


The Marvey Chronicles

by flamyshine



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Humor, M/M, fangirling, rating goes up at the later stages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-19
Updated: 2012-10-10
Packaged: 2017-10-26 06:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 129,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/280076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamyshine/pseuds/flamyshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Pearson-Hardman employees ship Harvey/Mike and try to get them together. The full story including the happily ever after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for LJ suits_meme.

 

It all started in the Pearson-Hardman ladies’ lounge when Rachel told Norma how Mike had saved her job by figuring out that Jimmy was the culprit. Norma knew what Mike looked like and was aware of how her boss, Louis, had eyes on him as his future pony, but she had had no direct contact with him.

“So he helps out friends at work? That’s noble, given how this is an extremely competitive firm. No offense to you or him, but he probably helped because you’re not one of his rivals.” Norma sipped her tea, enjoying her lunch break.

“Nah, Mike’s not like that. He’s a total sweetheart.” Donna put in her two cents.

“But he’s a lawyer.” Norma had seen more than enough lawyers to know what it took to be a lawyer.

“He’s different. He cares about people.” Rachel defended her friend and told the story about how Mike had even helped Kyle and Seth who pulled a prank on him whenever they got a chance.

“Then why aren’t you jumping him already? Is he seeing someone? Get rid of her then!” Norma scolded the paralegal.

Rachel wondered if it was all right to tell Norma about Mike’s sexual orientation.

“He’s gay.” Donna made it easy for her.

“I knew it!” Norma threw her hands in the air. “If he’s that cute, that brilliant, and even helps other people, he’s the perfect package. You know what they say! A good-looking man has a beautiful woman on his arm whereas a perfect man has a beautiful _man_ on his arm.”

“Amen.” Donna laughed.

“Who said such a thing?” Rachel asked.

“I don’t know. God?” Norma shrugged.

“I do wish Mikey gets himself a boyfriend though. Someone who would treat him well, someone who’s not like Trevor.” Rachel frowned at the memories of Mike’s ex-boyfriend.

“Who’s Trevor?” Norma asked.

Rachel and Donna filled her in, throwing in words that shouldn’t be coming out of a lady’s mouth. Norma now felt as if she knew Mike herself. Apparently Harvey Specter’s puppy was a very admirable and an adorable human being.

“Why do you think he’s single? Unrequited love?” She was curious.

“I think he’s just too busy with all the work. He simply doesn’t have time to go out there and find someone.” Rachel answered, finishing her coffee.

“Ah, too bad I don’t know anyone worthy of his attention to hook him up with.” Norma was frustrated. There were very few great guys left in the world, and Mike seemed to be one of them. She wanted him to find happiness and hear the angels sing in his ears.

“I guess he’s not interested in anyone at work.” Donna shared her colleague’s bitterness. She would like to see the puppy wag its tail with sheer joy, being loved by the right person.

“What type of guy is he looking for?” Norma asked, willing to keep in mind what Mike was looking for in case she came across someone that met the qualifications.

“Well, he once told me that he likes a man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to do anything and everything in his power to get it.” Rachel remembered the exact words because Mike had answered her silly question very seriously.

“I guess he was talking about someone with a goal and passion, but unfortunately that kind of description fits someone like Trevor too.” Rachel got up to get more coffee and added, “Oh, he also mentioned someone who has the resources to take care of his grandmother in case anything happens to him. He’s sweet like that.”

“Any preferences regarding age, race, and religion?” Norma liked to be thorough.

Rachel had to think a little before answering, “I think he said he didn’t like someone younger or similar to his age. Since he’s a genius, he’s probably going to enjoy the company of someone who can challenge him intellectually.”

“So the guy will have to be older than him and as smart as him, if not smarter.” Norma filed that information in her mental cabinet.

“That almost sounds like you’re describing Harvey.” Donna let out a light chuckle.

There was a brief pause before all three women became wide-eyed and yelled out at the same time. “Oh my god!!”

They had just found the perfect match for Mike.

*****

The next day, Harvey felt as if Norma was watching him like a hawk. When he had walked out of the elevator, she had been standing in Donna’s area, saying ‘Good morning, Mr. Specter’ in the tone of a school teacher scolding her student for being five minutes late. When he had walked into the partners’ kitchen, she had asked him how much coffee he drank per day and if he preferred decaf. Then they had crossed paths in front of the hotdog stand where she had asked him about his diet and workout pattern.

At first, he thought that she was interested in him. It was certainly not the first time that someone in the firm had fallen for him. But it soon became clear that her interest was more of a scrutinizing nature. Harvey caught her more than once sizing him up and down with a very serious expression.

“Good afternoon, Norma.”

Harvey greeted her as cheerfully as he could as he walked past her into Louis’ office. Whatever she had in mind, Harvey felt as if he should pass her test. She had clearly been discussing something with Donna in the morning, and he knew better than to mess with the people that Donna talked to.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Specter.” Norma greeted him with a smile that made Harvey want to shudder a little.

“What’s with your secretary, Louis? She’s been watching me all day as if she’s thinking about selling me on the black market or something.” Harvey sat down on the couch.

“I’d give her the raise of her life if she manages to do that.”

“So you have no idea what our secretaries have been discussing?”

Louis looked up from his desk. “Harvey, I do _not_ want to know what those women say behind our backs. It can’t be anything good.”

“What about your wife then? Do you want to know what she says about you behind your back? I can tell you if you want.” Harvey smirked.

“For the last time, Harvey, I don’t have a wife and your jokes are lame. Besides, don’t you have work to do? Oh right, I forgot you had the golden goose that can read thousand pages a day.” Louis mocked.

“He’s not a goose. He’s a puppy.” Harvey corrected him.

“Whatever. If you keep abusing him like that, he’ll soon be my pony anyway.”

Harvey laughed. “That was funny, Louis. That was the funniest thing you’ve said since I’ve known you.”

“You know I’ll make a better mentor for him, Harvey.”

“And, you’ll teach him what? How to get on Donna’s bad sides? Or how to play tennis while looking like a complete idiot?”

“I play solid tennis!”

“I’m sure you do, Louis. Just like how you practice law.”

Louis narrowed his eyes and started to shoot laser out of them, and Harvey took it as his cue to stop teasing the miserable lawyer and get back to work.

*****

An hour later, the three women were gathered in the ladies’ lounge. They were taking a snack break while the partners were in a conference room with Jessica.

“So? Did Harvey pass your test?” Rachel asked, dying to hear about the result.

“Of course he did. I trained him well.” Donna looked all smug.

Norma nodded. “I think he’s okay. He does seem to drink a little too much coffee and has a bad habit of irritating Louis, but Mike can train him himself once he gets him.”

“How is irritating Louis a bad habit?” Donna asked incredulously.

“Woman, who do you think he lashes out at when he’s irritated?” Norma destroyed the end of the straw with her teeth.

“Point taken.” Donna took a sip of coffee as Rachel listened in silence. She admired and feared both women.

“So, fill me in on the current status. What do we have so far?” Norma urged.

“Do you want to hear it from the very beginning?” Donna smiled, remembering the day when she had first met Mike.

“Sure. Get on with it, woman. Our break ends in five minutes.”

Donna pretty much rapped about how Mike had been late for his interview because he had taken a cab for once instead of his bicycle (she knew that she couldn’t tell them the real version of the story without putting Harvey and Mike at risk) -he hadn’t wanted to be all sweaty after biking. She also told them how shiny Harvey’s eyes had been as he told her that he had found what he had been looking for.

“Awww! That’s so cute!” Rachel couldn’t help but squee.

“And now?” Norma checked the clock. Donna would have to skip right to the end of the story.

“Now Mike admires Harvey as if he’s the God of Law, and Harvey has finally dropped the puppy analogy on him and has started to mentor him.”

“And, in your opinion, neither of them has developed any personal feelings towards each other?” Norma trusted Donna’s instincts.

Donna took a moment before firmly shaking her head. The boys had started to establish a good rapport, but it didn’t seem to be anything personal.

“It’s okay. No need to worry.” Norma patted Rachel on the shoulder.

“You know what my nickname was in high school and college?” Norma asked as she got up from the couch. “Matchmaking Queen.”

“Really?” Rachel found some hope again.

“Yes. To this day, twenty-seven couples have tied the knot under my watch. Not one of them has divorced, and the total baby count is currently at fifty two.”

“Are you serious?” Rachel’s jaw dropped.

“Then what are you doing here working for Louis? You’re wasting your talent!” Donna couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

Norma shushed the audience of two. “What would that poor man do without me? I can run my matchmaking business once he screws up something really bad and gets disbarred. Until then, this is my way of giving back to the society.”

Rachel gaped at Norma in awe. She now understood why Donna had been speaking so highly of her.

“Oh, one last matter to deal with before we part.” Norma paused to get the girls’ attention. “I took the liberty of getting Harvey and Mike a name as a couple. If you ask me, a couple name is the cornerstone of every solid relationship.”

“What is it?” Rachel felt light-headed with excitement.

“Marvey.” Norma answered with pride. She thought that the name was classy and sounded similar to ‘marvelous’.

“That’s marvelous!” Donna said, and that was when Norma became certain that Harvey and Mike would be her twenty-eighth couple.

*****

**Step 1: Physical attraction** (Project ‘Birthday suit’)

Harvey was on his way to the partners’ kitchen for a cup of coffee. There was a new coffee machine on the floor and he wanted to try it out. He was just turning the corner when Norma ran into him.

_Splash._

“Oh my god, Mr. Specter! I’m so sorry!”

Harvey looked down at his suits. The woman had managed to hit a triple combo; coffee had reached his jacket, vest and shirt.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

He knew that it was an honest mistake. Donna had told him that people had been getting coffee from the new machine and that they were running around like bunnies with excitement. Apparently the new machine made decent coffee.

“I should pay for the dry cleaning.” Norma offered.

“It’s okay, Norma.” Harvey was a gentleman. Unless Louis was going to pay for it, he didn’t want the secretary to worry about dry cleaning payment when she probably didn’t earn much.

“But I insist! I know a really good place! It’s _this_ big and…”

That’s when she spilled the rest of the coffee on Harvey’s crotch while trying to describe this amazing dry cleaning place with her hands.

“Oops! I’m so sorry! I really am!”

Norma could tell that Harvey was a very nice person. He just gave her a nod and headed to the men’s room. If she had done the same to Louis, he would have probably fired her on the spot.

“How did it go?” Donna asked as soon as her comrade approached her area.

“The poor man is in the men’s room, trying to get it off with water. I’ve spilled almost all of my coffee, so he’ll have to change everything he’s wearing. And, don’t worry. His crotch is safe. I made sure the coffee wasn’t hot.” Norma winked and heard footsteps behind her.

“Mr. Specter, I’m really sorry again. I’ll be more careful.” Norma acted like an Oscar star, looking ashamed.

“It’s all right.” Harvey’s face was dark but he didn’t sound murderous.

Norma fled the scene before Harvey could change his mind. Now it was time for Donna to play her part. As soon as Harvey stepped into his office and pulled down the blinds, she called up Mike.

It took Mike only a minute or so to arrive in front of Harvey’s office.

“Uh, Donna? Is it all right to step inside?” Mike asked with a file in his hands.

“Sure. He told me to get you.” Donna smiled reassuringly.

“But the blinds are down.”

“It’s just a mechanical failure. Go inside already.”

Mike nodded even though he wasn’t too sure. He didn’t want Harvey to get upset because he didn’t deliver the file pronto so he knocked on the door but didn’t wait for an answer.

“Harvey, here’s the…”

Mike swallowed his words as he realized that Harvey was naked. The man was pulling out a fresh shirt from his mini-closet, his back facing the door. Mike could see the perfect muscles on Harvey’s back and on his…

“I’m sorry, Harvey! I knew the blinds were down, but Donna… I asked her and… she said it was a failure and I didn’t…”

He shut his mouth instantly. He was a reflection of Harvey, and Harvey wouldn’t want a reflection of his to stutter.

“It’s fine. Louis’ useless secretary spilled coffee all over my suits.” Harvey spoke as he put on his shirt and started to button it up.

“Oh…”

“No wonder he wants to throw her out the window.”

“Mmhmm…”

Mike’s eyes instinctively swept his boss from head to toe. There was no part of the body that was short of absolute masculine beauty. It’s not like he had a crush on his boss but he couldn’t deny that Harvey had a very attractive body.

“Did you bring the file?” Harvey asked as he picked up his tie.

“Yes, I did. It’s right here.”

Mike put the file on the desk as he tried to avert his eyes from his boss’ buttocks. Who put on a shirt first anyway? Doesn’t any normal person put on underwear first?

“Good. Now stop staring at me and get back to work.” Harvey said as he put on his boxers.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t staring at you.” Mike stuck out his tongue and left the office.

‘Hmm, perhaps I should sign up for the gym next month. If I’m a reflection of him, shouldn’t I try to look like him a bit more?’

Mike shrugged. He wasn’t jealous of Harvey’s body or anything. He was just a good associate, paying attention to his boss’ words.

*****

Since Norma couldn’t have Mike sued for sexual harassment, the attraction had to be both ways. Hence the ‘Project Yoga’ was born. Donna talked to Jessica about how male employees could benefit by relaxing through yoga. She explained that Rachel was willing to teach for free, so Jessica had let her have a trial session with the male associates. Even a few partners showed interest in relaxing with a pretty paralegal, and Mike was the only one who wasn’t happy about it.

“But Rach…” Mike whined, slumped in her office.

“You’re my friend, aren’t you? You’re supposed to show me some support.”

“But I’m as stiff as a wood! I was a wrestler in high school! You know that! I’m not cut out for yoga!”

“You can keep whining about it, Mike, but it’s mandatory for all male associates. Haven’t you read the memo?”

Mike sank deeper into the chair. “I read the memo. It said, tomorrow at 2pm, conference room 109. Bring comfortable clothes. The mats will be provided. All male associates are expected on time.”

“Exactly.”

Mike groaned. “I’ll be there on time.”

But the next day, Mike realized that it was impossible to get there on time. Not aware that it was Donna’s doing, Mike finished proofreading the last file and gave it to Donna before rushing to the yoga class in sweatpants and a ragged T-shirt.

When he had made it to the conference room, Norma was smiling gently, offering him a mat. He saw that the class had already started, and since he was late, he got the space in the very back.

‘Great! Now everyone who walks by will get to see how I completely suck at yoga.’ Mike groaned and got down on his mat.

Meanwhile, Harvey was in his office, looking for a particular file. He was just about to press the intercom when he realized that his secretary wasn’t in her area. He got of the office and checked Donna’s desk. The file wasn’t there. So he headed over to the nearly empty associates’ cubicles and tried to locate the file on Mike’s desk, but it wasn’t there either.

“Norma, have you seen Donna?” Harvey eventually walked all the way to Louis’ office, wondering where everyone was.

“Conference room 109, Mr. Specter. She’s helping Rachel with her yoga class. It’s mandatory for all male associates.”

“Thanks, Norma.”

Harvey needed that file before the client called him, so he took the elevator and headed to the conference room.

‘I guess Jessica’s working on the employees’ benefits lately. First a decent coffee machine, and now yoga.’

Harvey wondered if his own associate was in the conference room too. He couldn’t picture Mike doing any kind of sports.

‘It should be fun to watch.’

It didn’t take long for Harvey to spot his associate. Mike had the closest mat to the glass door.

“Okay, now let’s do a variation of the cat pose.” Rachel announced as she spotted Harvey.

Donna was helping the struggling associates get into position when Harvey knocked and gestured at her to come out.

‘Coming.’ She mouthed as she walked to the door, pushing Mike’s back further down.

“I’m sorry, Harvey. You came for this file, right?”

“Yes. No problem.”

As Donna handed him the file, all Harvey could see was his associate’s ass high up in the air.

“Oh god… This is going to be the end of me.” Mike moaned.

“Hi, down there.” Harvey poked his head and greeted his associate.

Mike turned his head to address his boss. “Oh, Harvey, you have no idea how lucky you are to be a partner. Rachel’s treating us like guinea pigs. Such impossible positions.”

Now Mike was forced to lie on his back with his legs spread in the air. Donna watched Harvey take a good look at Mike’s writhing form.

“Don’t torture him too much. I need him to function till eight.”

“You got it, boss.” Donna smiled.

Harvey noticed that Mike had long, lean legs as he closed the door and walked away from the Land of Pain.

*****

“Did you see Harvey’s face?” Rachel giggled.

“Oh, that was fun.” Donna laughed into her coffee.

The three girls were once again gathered in the ladies’ lounge when two other girls walked up to their table.

“Hey, what are you girls talking about?” The first woman, Linda, asked with a smile on her face.

“We didn’t mean to eavesdrop but we heard you were talking about Mr. Specter.” The second woman, Stacey, said. Donna could tell that she had a huge crush on her boss.

“Yes, we were.” Norma confirmed.

“It seemed like a funny episode.” Stacey was curious.

Norma looked at Donna and Rachel, wondering if it would be necessary to have more people on board.

Donna shrugged. “It can’t hurt to have more allies in the firm. There’s only so much we can control.”

“I agree. Besides, Harvey and Mike are super smart. We could use all the help we can get.” Rachel voiced her opinion.

“Wait a second. Whatever this is about, it involves Mike Ross too?” Stacey squeed.

“He’s so cute and so nice! I’ve never seen a lawyer like him.” Linda fanned herself. “I often want to put him in my pocket and keep him safe from all things evil.”

Donna laughed while Rachel was slightly crept out. Norma figured that the two women could be a valuable asset to the group and filled them in on what they were trying to achieve.

“Oh! So you guys are like a fan club? A Marvey fan club?” Linda asked.

“Well, we haven’t really identified ourselves as a fan club.” Rachel answered.

“But there are a lot of girls who would love to join the club! I know a few Harvey fans in accounting and a few Mike fans downstairs.” Stacey mentioned her comrades. They would be so excited to hear about the fan club.

“I wasn’t aware that Puppy had so many fans.” Donna was pleased at Mike’s popularity but displeased at the fact that she hadn’t known about it sooner.

“Who wouldn’t want to be a fan of his? His puppy eyes kill me all the time! He once asked for my help in the copy room, and after I helped him, he said ‘Thanks, Linda’ with those perfectly moist puppy eyes.” Linda put her hands on her heart that beat for Mike.

“I think Mike would be perfect for Mr. Specter. But I thought the firm had an anti-fraternization policy when it came to partners and associates.” Stacey was worried.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’ll take it to Jessica once we see some results.” Donna waved off her concern.

“You think she’ll make an exception?” Linda asked.

“No, she’ll change the bylaws.” Norma answered.

“Why would she do that?” Stacey was doubtful.

“Because if her best closer is happy, the clients will be happy, then she will be happy.” Donna explained.

Linda and Stacey thought that her logic was flawless.

The news of a Marvey fan club spread faster than when Louis had come to work with his hair standing up. Many fans of Harvey or Mike or both came out of the closet, happy to have found numerous comrades so close. Whether she joined the club or not, every employee with two X chromosomes heard the word ‘Marvey’ in under an hour. By six o’clock, Norma found herself creating a Facebook page under the name ‘The Marveyed.’ She added the words ‘You’ve been Marveyed!’ in the profile and smiled with satisfaction.


	2. Mike's new possession

**Step 2: More physical attraction** (Project ‘Wet puppy’)

With new members on board, the Marvey Fan Club didn’t waste any time to get on to their next project. When Norma triggered the fire alarm in the hallway with Louis’ lighter, Mike was in Harvey’s office, passionately talking about how he had found the loophole to win the case. He was standing in front of Harvey’s desk, gesturing with his hands, when water poured from above his head. He was drenched like a wet puppy in two seconds.

“This is not happening.” Mike whined as he realized that he was soaked to the bones.

“Don’t move. I don’t want you dripping all over my office.” Harvey ordered as soon as he checked with Donna that the fire alarm wasn’t anything to worry about.

“What do you suggest I do then? By the way, shouldn’t the sprinkler have hit you instead? This is your office.” Mike wiped the water off his forehead with the back of his hand to no avail.

“I’ll lend you one of my suits.” Harvey offered as he pulled down the blinds.

“I’ll have to walk to the closet.”

“No. You’re going to stay there. I’ll get the suit for you.”

“And then you’ll step outside to give me some privacy, right?” Mike asked a little nervously. He didn’t have perfect muscles everywhere like his boss.

“Mike, you don’t have anything I don’t have. Although I might have it in a larger size.”

Mike coughed “Ass” as he shivered.

“I heard that.” Harvey walked towards his mini-closet. “Take off your clothes. You’re going to catch a cold.”

“It sounds like you care.”

“I don’t care about your health. I just need my associate to be able to work without having to blow his nose every two seconds. Now strip.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

Mike saluted and started to take off his jacket. It wasn’t an easy job. By the time Harvey had fetched him a towel, a suit and a pair of slippers, Mike had only managed to get rid of his jacket, shoes and socks.

Harvey sat at his desk and watched Mike unbutton his shirt. The fabric was revealing every inch of Mike’s torso. Harvey could pretty much locate every single one of Mike’s ribs. As Mike opened his shirt to get it off, Harvey’s mind came up with the word ‘creamy’ to describe what he was looking at.

“Harvey? Some privacy?”

“Sure.” Harvey lowered his gaze and focused on the file.

“That’s what you call privacy? I’m changing right in front of your desk!”

“Well, I’m not looking, aren’t I?”

Mike was going to say something clever when he spotted a pair of boxers on the chair.

“I can’t wear them.” He pointed at the underwear as if they were going to eat him alive.

Harvey looked up to see what the fuss was about. “Are you planning to go commando then? Dirty boy.”

“I… I can go out and buy myself a pair.”

“They’re clean, Mike, relax. And, you can keep them. Just change and get out of my office with your dripping suit already.”

Mike shut his mouth and nodded. Then he peeled off everything in front of the desk, constantly making sure that Harvey wasn’t looking.

‘Oh god, this is so wrong…’ Mike bit his lips as he put on his boss’ underwear. When did he and Harvey become close enough to share underwear?

“Changing clothes doesn’t require that much thinking, puppy.” Harvey could practically hear the gears working inside his associate’s brain.

“I’m almost done.” Mike hurried into Harvey’s shirt and pants. He couldn’t wait to get out of the office.

“Need a hand with the tie? I wouldn’t want you to ruin it.” Harvey looked up when he heard Mike fumble with the belt.

“I know it must be the hardest thing for you to believe, but I actually know how to handle a tie, thank you very much.”

Harvey chuckled. It was fun to make fun of his puppy. Sometimes he could bark like that.

When Mike finally managed to put on Harvey’s clothes (minus the vest) and walked out with a bag of wet clothes, he noticed that some female employees were talking to Donna.

“Hi, ladies.” Mike smiled sheepishly and felt the women’s appreciative eyes wander all over his body. Apparently he didn’t look too bad in Harvey’s suit.

“Oh my god, he’s wearing Harvey’s suit!” Linda felt light-headed as she took a picture of Mike walking away in his boss’ suit.

*****

‘Oh Jesus, this is so very wrong…’

Mike knew that he sounded like a broken record but every time he went to the men’s room, he couldn’t help but feel that it was wrong to wear his boss’ underwear. It was hard to focus on the files in front of him when he was constantly reminded of what he was wearing underneath his boss’ suit.

‘It does feel nice on my skin though. It must cost an arm or something. Is it all right to keep something that costs so much? But he told me to keep it! He probably doesn’t want it now that I’ve worn it. But where would I keep it? In the drawer with my other boxers? Isn’t that wrong too? And, am I going to wear it again? Shouldn’t I just throw it out? But it’s expensive! Maybe I should give it to charity then. But is it okay to give your boss’ boxers to charity? What if it ends up in a kinky old man’s room? Eww!’

All sorts of concern flooded Mike’s brain and he wished that he had a male friend he could talk to. He certainly couldn’t discuss the matter with Rachel or Donna.

“What’s wrong, Mike?” Harold asked from the cubicle next to his.

“It’s nothing.” Mike smiled and shook his head.

“But there’s clearly something bothering you.”

Harold wondered what it was about. He liked Mike. Mike was the only one who stood up for him when the other associates acted like bullies. If something upset Mike, he would do everything in his little power to help him out.

“Come on, Mike. You can tell me anything.”

Mike wondered what kind of things ‘anything’ exactly covered. He liked Harold. Harold wasn’t the brightest employee in the firm but he had a good heart and knew how to keep a secret. He always thought that Harold was hired because he would keep the clients’ secrets no matter what.

“Well, I suppose I could amuse you.” Mike told Harold about his ridiculous problem, hoping that he wouldn’t burst into laughter.

“The solution is simple.” Harold smiled reassuringly. “Just keep it in a plastic bag so that it wouldn’t get mixed with your other underwear and wear it on special days.”

“What special days?”

“When you want to feel like him! Like when you go to court or meet an important client. It could be your lucky charm.”

“But don’t you think it would be a little creepy?” Mike frowned.

Harold made a face. “Are you serious? It’s Harvey Specter’s stuff we’re talking about! You of all people should know that whatever he touches literally turns into gold. Perhaps all that confidence comes from his potent boxers!”

Mike blinked his eyes. ‘Potent boxers? Really?’

He knew that Harold was in awe of Harvey but he hadn’t known that it was this bad. While other associates tried hard to get Harvey’s attention and replace Mike, Harold didn’t try a thing. He knew that he wasn’t good enough for Harvey and thought that Mike was perfect for him.

“If you decide to throw it out or give it away, please let me know.” Harold was polite.

“Why?”

Harold looked at him incredulously. “What do you mean why? So I can keep it!”

Mike didn’t know and didn’t want to know what Harold had in mind for his boss’ underwear, but he figured that it would be safer with him than with Harold. ‘It wouldn’t hurt to keep it, right? No one would know anyway.’

Mike made up his mind and broke his colleague’s heart. “I’m sorry, Harold. I think I’ll keep it. Harvey actually told me to keep it. I have to follow his orders. Sorry.”

Harold nodded with hugely disappointed eyes. “Sure. I understand.”

As Harold’s head disappeared into the cubicle, Mike now felt both uneasy and guilty.

*****

An hour later, a Marvey incident occurred right in front of Donna’s area.

“Harvey.” Mike approached his boss.

“You solved Jerome’s problem yet?” Harvey asked as he signed the papers that Donna handed him.

“Uh, about to, but I need your corporate card first.”

“What for?”

“I thought you didn’t want me to explain it to you.”

“You’re right. I don’t.”

Harvey took out his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out his corporate card. He held out the card with two fingers but when Mike went for it, he crooked his fingers. Then he extended his fingers so that Mike could finally take it, but when Mike reached out, he crooked them again.

“Harvey!” Mike pouted.

Harvey grinned like a seven year old boy and let Mike take the card.

When Donna told the story in the ladies’ lounge at lunchtime, The Marveyed showed two reactions. The initial one was ‘Aww! That’s so cute!’, and the second one was ‘Why didn’t I get to see that with my own eyes?’

Rachel let out a sigh. “I have my own office. I never get to see anything fun.”

“Hey, at least you’re on the same floor and you’re friends with Mike!” A woman that worked downstairs reminded her.

“Relax, ladies.” Donna spoke with a soft voice. “Norma and I have spoken to Benjamin from the IT department, and he’s kindly offering his services to provide us with all the Marvey footage he can get from the security cameras.”

“God bless the security cameras!” A woman shouted with excitement.

“So glad we have them everywhere in the firm!”

“Sadly not in Harvey’s office.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

“At least Mike works in the area where there are two cameras.”

“Ladies.” Donna hushed the members and carried on with the announcement. “Thanks to Benjamin’s help, we’ll need a liaison that would get the footage from him and edit the necessary parts and distribute it to the rest of the club.”

She skipped the part where she had pretty much threatened the poor guy. No one had to know the gory details.

“We would appreciate someone who knows how to edit stuff.” Norma added. Then she talked about how they were short-handed.“I’d do it myself if I could but I’m busy planning our next projects and dealing with the club. Rachel’s already teaching yoga and Donna’s taking care of our Facebook page.”

“I can do it.” Stacey volunteered. She would love to get her hands on raw footage of her two boys even if they were just walking next to each other down the hallway.

“She knows how to edit stuff.” Linda told everyone. “Oh! She could even make us some gifs and macros out of the footage!”

“Oh my god, what a wonderful idea!”

“That’s fantastic!”

“You’re a genius!”

“I love this firm!”

Apparently all the members liked the idea.

“Thank you, Stacey. We’d really appreciate it.” Donna smiled warmly and Stacey smiled back.

Norma felt her heart skip a beat. She couldn’t remember the last time that she was this excited. Maybe it was when Louis had threatened to fire her?

“If we’re a fan club, do we get Marvey T-shirts?” A member asked.

“If we’re getting T-shirts, can we get mugs too? I’d love a mug with Harvey’s face on it.”

“What about posters?”

“Autographed pictures?”

Questions filled the lounge and Norma smiled at the enthusiasm. She was going to answer questions and take notes until the end of her lunch break.

**************************************************************************************************

 

The Marvey fan club members were having one of their brainstorming sessions for future projects. Their lunchtime and snack breaks had been dedicated to club activities for the last couple of days. Today Rachel had come up with an idea and had just finished telling everyone how Mike had once told her that Harvey had called him a ‘good boy’.

“He found a particularly difficult loophole to crack the case.” Rachel added.

“Well, it didn’t officially happen unless we heard it too.” Rebecca imagined Harvey saying ‘Good boy’ in his low pheromone-dripping voice. She thought that it was a miracle that Mike had survived it.

“Yeah, it’ll have to happen again. I just know Mike would love to hear it again as much as we do!” Elizabeth was certain that she knew Mike well. After all, they met each other so often in her dreams.

“What if it happens inside Harvey’s office?” Stacey asked.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be recording whatever comes through my intercom.” Donna thought about just how useful Benjamin was.

“Great!” Norma loved how things were going smoothly. “Now we’ll have to divide the roles and see how we can help Mike best. I know a lot of you would like to help him, but we will not fight like beasts over him. Our endgame isn’t to molest him with our eyes. It’s to toss him gently into Harvey’s willing arms.”

The members weren’t really listening to her anymore. They were busy thinking about how they could help Mike and whose hair they would have to grab to get the roles they wanted.

“Ladies, just remember, try not to faint or make embarrassing sounds when Mike thanks you for your help, all right?” Donna reminded everyone.

“What if we aren’t prepared for that? Can we get some training first?” Linda voiced her concern. She was a very accomplished employee, but she thought that she could have a lot of difficulty helping a coworker if that coworker was someone as attractive as Mike.

“I guess I could provide some acting lessons.” Donna offered.

“That’s awesome!” Abby clapped. This was by far the best firm that she had ever worked in.

“Please do!” Deb had always admired Donna’s acting. She considered it an honor to learn from her.

As Donna smiled rather devilishly, the ladies could tell that they were in for a rough ride.

*****

 **Step 3: Mutual appreciation** (Project ‘Good boy’)

As any other day, Mike was heading down to the files room when he noticed that someone was in there.

“Uh, hi, Margaret.” He poked his head in and greeted the woman. He remembered the lady from the kitchen a few days ago when he had needed help with the new coffee machine.

“Hi, Mike.” The woman turned around and gave him a bright smile. She had fought off three other members to get the part. Her left elbow and right knee still hurt but she would live.

“It’s so weird to see someone else in here. Usually it’s just me and all these files.” Mike gestured at the whole room.

“Well, it sounds like you could use some company.” Margaret pointed at the two cups of coffee.

“Wow, there’s one for me?” Mike was pleasantly surprised.

“I was getting lonely down here so I was going to offer it to anyone who came through that door. You happened to be the first one to walk in.” She lied like a pro. Donna’s lessons were coming in handy.

“Thanks, Margaret.” Mike’s dazzling smile made her go weak at the knees. It was a good thing that she was already sitting at a desk.

“So what are you looking for?” Margaret remembered what she was here for and played the rest of her part, helping Mike find the files that he needed.

When Mike came back to his cubicle, he realized that he had saved over half an hour thanks to the lovely woman.

‘She even had the perfect coffee for me. What an angel.’ Mike smiled and figured that it was his lucky day.

His luck continued throughout the day as ladies appeared out of nowhere and helped him with photocopies, patents, and extensive research for the client meeting that he and Harvey had in the afternoon.

‘Do I look exceptionally handsome today?’

Mike checked himself in the mirror in the men’s room, wondering what attracted the ladies today. Then it suddenly hit him.

‘Oh my god, Harold was right!’

He had put on Harvey’s underwear this morning. The client that was going to come in today was one of their biggest clients. Harvey had insisted over and over again that he should wear the best clothes that he had. Since Harvey’s boxers were by far the best underwear that was in his drawer, he had no other choice but to wear them.

‘So this is what helps Harvey land so many gorgeous people in bed, huh?’

Mike wondered if he would have enough time to go out and pick a bedmate after work. He had already done so much work with the ladies’ help.

‘Perhaps this is what helps him keep Donna for such a long time too. I know Harvey’s successful and all but he’s not exactly the boss of the year, and she’s worked for that man for seven years!’

Mike headed back to his cubicle, mourning the fact that he had only one pair of Harvey’s potent boxers. He would have to wash them, which meant that he wouldn’t get to wear them every single day.

‘Well, let’s enjoy the fun while it lasts.’

Mike decided to push his luck and gathered all the files that he had worked on. Then he pretty much ran to Harvey’s office, eager to show him how much work he had done in such a short amount of time.

“I’m not just talking about the quantity of work here, Harvey. Feel free to appreciate the quality of my work too.”

Harvey took his time to check the files and research that Mike was so proud of. Mike’s work was almost always impressive but today, he had to admit that it was particularly exceptional.

“Great job.” He nodded.

“What? That’s all I get?” Mike couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“You get paid for your work, don’t you?” Harvey thought that it was always fun to tease his associate.

“I do! But I thought you’d be more appreciative than that! _Much_ more than that!”

Harvey chuckled. Mike was fuming. “Tell me what you want then.”

Mike eyed his boss suspiciously. “That sounds like I’ll get what I want if I just say it.”

“Unless you ask for something ridiculous, you might get it.” Harvey was in a good mood. His associate proved again that he was better than the other associates on so many levels.

Mike’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Let’s see. First we could do a fist bump.”

Harvey bumped Mike’s fist, shaking his head. Mike was a like a little kid at times.

“Oh, now you could tell me how you’ve always been so grateful for my presence and how your life has been much brighter ever since you’ve hired me. You could also tell me how…”

“Don’t push it, rookie.”

Mike pouted but adjusted his tactics. “Fine. I’ll settle with a ‘Good boy.’”

Harvey looked up with amusement. “That’s all you want? A fist bump and a ‘Good boy’?”

“Don’t question my taste. I earned them.”

“Fair enough.”

Harvey got up from his desk and stood in front of Mike. He felt like a school teacher praising the top student of his class.

“Good boy.” He added a firm pat on the shoulder and saw Mike grin widely. The kid certainly worked hard to get his praise.

“Very good boy.” Harvey was feeling generous.

If they ever claimed to have seen someone in the hallway with a gigantic camera out of the corner of their eyes, Donna would tell them that they had seen a ghost.


	3. The company newsletter

**Step 4: Emotional bond** (Project ‘Golden duo’)

“We have a company newsletter? Since when?” Harvey had been working for Pearson-Hardman for years but it was the first time that he had heard about such a thing.

“It’s existed for years, Harvey.” Jessica told him. “And, they want to have you and Ross on the next quarterly issue, so do not harass the poor ladies who come to you for an extensive interview and photographs.”

“Am I getting paid for this? My portrait rights are almost as expensive as my billables.” Harvey grinned. He loved making Jessica sigh.

“If you don’t cooperate, I’m going to take your associate for a week and bomb you with pro bono cases. How does that sound?”

“Then I’ll find some other associate and hand him over those cases.”

“Then you’ll never get Ross back. I’ve heard that Louis wants him pretty badly.” Jessica smiled. Who was Harvey thinking that he was messing with? He could still be cute like that.

Harvey glared at the managing partner. During his entire career, he had never had a weak spot, but because of that kid, he now had to compromise.

“Fine. But if they cross the line, I’m throwing them out the window.”

“Did you not hear me? If you do not give them your full cooperation, there’s no more Ross for you.”

“He belongs to me. You can’t touch him.”

“Wrong. He belongs to this firm. I can touch him all I want.”

Harvey knew that Jessica didn’t mean it literally, but he couldn’t help but find her words distasteful.

“I suppose I’ve made myself clear now. You can expect them in your office this afternoon.”

“Today?”

“Yes, would that be a problem? I already checked with Donna. You don’t have any client meetings or imminent crisis.”

Harvey wanted to protest but he had to think about Mike. He had already betted him in a wager against Louis and lost. He wasn’t going to repeat the same mistake.

“No problem. I’ll tell Mike myself.”

He suddenly didn’t feel comfortable leaving his associate in the same room with her.

*****

“Company newsletter? That’s awesome!” Mike put a huge smile on his face. He couldn’t even sit still in front of Harvey’s desk.

“You don’t have to pretend, Mike. I’m not a fan of it either.”

“But I’m not pretending! I’m really excited! When will I ever be in an article? And, you said we get like ten pages, right? That’s more than awesome! Oh, I can’t wait to tell Grammy.”

Harvey hadn’t expected this kind of reaction but decided to let Mike enjoy the moment. He figured that it was easier than to convince a sulky associate.

“Oh, shoot. I should’ve worn my best suit then.” Mike’s face fell.

“Don’t worry. They’re not going to take pictures today. That’s for tomorrow.”

“Oh, great!” Mike’s smile came back.

Then he started to unload all the curiosities in his mind. “Hey, do we get some of the questions before the interview? So we’ll have time to think about the answers? Is it an individual interview? Or do I get to answer questions with you? What are you going to wear tomorrow? If there’s a group picture, shouldn’t we try to match our outfits? What do you think? Oh, I wonder if they provide make-up too. It can’t hurt to have an expert’s touch on you before you put yourself out there.”

Harvey patiently waited until Mike was done. It was probably healthy for his brain to let it all out without any interruption.

“Take this number and ask them yourself.” He scribbled down a number that Donna had fetched him earlier and shooed him out of the office. It was finally quiet and peaceful.

*****

The dreadful afternoon had arrived and Harvey was shaking hands with the interviewer in his office.

“Hi, Harvey Specter.” Harvey extended his hand.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Specter. Please call me Deb.”

The woman did her best to leave things at a handshake. The senior partner looked even hotter up close and it was so tempting to pull him into her arms.

“Please take a seat, Deb.”

“Thank you.”

The woman sat on one of the chairs in front of Harvey’s desk. She had poured a whole bottle of water into her system, but her mouth had already gone dry.

Thankfully Donna walked in with two cups of coffee and they were soon set to start the interview.

‘Oh my god, this is really happening!! Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in…’ Deb reminded herself that she needed air to survive the waves of sexiness and elegance coming from across the desk.

“Uh, Mr. Specter? Would it be all right if I recorded this interview? I wouldn’t want to twist your words by mistake and get sued afterwards.”

Harvey smiled and nodded. “What a smart woman you are.”

“Thank you.” Deb couldn’t believe that her idol had just called her smart.

“Good. Then let’s begin.” Harvey crossed his legs, ready to answer the questions.

The first few questions were about Harvey’s previous years at the firm. He also talked about how Jessica had scouted him from the mail room and had sent him to Harvard. Deb was grateful that she didn’t have to pay too much attention to his words and that she could freely appreciate how Harvey’s lips moved graciously and how his eyes lay softly on hers.

‘Focus, Deb! Those eyes and lips are for Mike!’ She scolded herself and nodded as Harvey finished answering.

“Let’s move on to the questions about your associate, Mike Ross.” Deb announced with delight. “What’s it like working with him?”

“Well, when I was a junior partner, I didn’t have an associate so I wasn’t crazy about the idea of working with someone else. But I think Mike understands how I want things to be done and I appreciate how he can think on his feet. He’s been quite useful so far.” Harvey could picture Mike beaming at his compliment.

“Do think you guys have great chemistry? If you do, did you hit it off straight away or did you slowly adapt to each other?”

Harvey thought for a moment. “I think we function all right. We had to work out a few kinks at the beginning but we’re a more stable team now.”

“Do you guys have any rituals before going to court or after you win a case?”

“Well, he wants us to gloat in poor taste. I never high-five him back, but I do engage in fist bumps occasionally. He loves it.” Harvey smiled. He wouldn’t normally give out this much information, but he remembered that he had to give the interviewer his full cooperation or Mike could be sent to Louis.

Deb was thankful that Harvey was hiding his claws. She had been worried that he might not like a question and scratch her to death.

“Your associate is very competent. Don’t other partners ever get jealous of you and try to take him away from you?”

Harvey thought about how Louis wanted Mike as his pony. Just thinking about Louis saying ‘Good job, pony.’ and patting Mike on the back made his coffee taste awful.

“Since you asked, I’d like to take this opportunity to make myself clear on the matter. If you’re a partner in this firm and reading this interview, I advise you to take your eyes off my associate. I’ve hired him myself and trained him with my own hands. I don’t want to threaten anyone but you’ve probably heard of what I’m capable of, so back off when I ask so nicely.”

Deb almost had a delightful heart attack at the possessive answer. Harvey had finally revealed his claws, ready to protect what belonged to him.

*****

Meanwhile, Mike was ready to answer similar questions in one of the small conference rooms. His interviewer Elizabeth was a wonderful woman to talk to.

“I’m glad you make me feel comfortable, Beth.” Mike smiled. “I was a little nervous when I walked in here. I’ve never done an interview before. Well, except for job interviews obviously.”

“Aww, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m not here to interrogate you, Mike. I’ll just be asking questions about your work and Mr. Specter.” Elizabeth gave him a reassuring smile, ignoring her inner voice that kept screaming at her to lock the door and jump the pretty boy already.

“Great. So what’s the first question?”

“How do you like Mr. Specter?”

“As a boss?”

“Yeah, and also as a person if you’d like to talk about it.”

“He has once told me he’s tough but fair. I think I’ll have to agree with him. But I don’t agree with him when he says he doesn’t care about the clients or his associate. He says he only cares about winning. He also says that he doesn’t like to have emotions, that he only likes to use them, but he’s so wrong. He cares plenty. Oh, please add ‘especially about his associate’ in the article. And, he has displayed quite a range of emotions in front of me. He thinks I can’t see them, but I totally can.” Mike felt liberating to say something about Harvey in front of a recorder. He wondered if Harvey would sue him for libel.

“And, as a boss? Does he treat you well?”

“Well, he gives me too much work, but whose boss doesn’t?” Mike shared a laugh with the interviewer.

“Do you feel like you have great chemistry with him?”

“Yes.” Mike didn’t hesitate for a second.

Elizabeth bit her lips in order to prevent herself from making happy sounds. “Would you care to elaborate?”

Mike nodded. “Harvey’s an expert at reading people and he reads me exceptionally well. He always knows what’s going on with me even when I try my best to hide it. And, did I mention he cares a lot about me?”

Elizabeth laughed and nodded.

“Oh, and in my case, I pay an enormous amount of attention to him. He’s a tough boss. I don’t want to piss him off by making even a tiny mistake. So I watch his body language and try to see what’s in his eyes, and then I feel like I can communicate much better with him. So yeah, we read each other well and I think that’s a solid ground for great team work.”

“What a wonderful answer.” Elizabeth couldn’t help herself. She loved every minute of the interview.

“Thank you.” Mike smiled sheepishly.

“Would you like to take the opportunity and say something to Mr. Specter? Get something off your chest or maybe tell him something you couldn’t in person?”

Mike wondered if he should rise to the bait. The interviewer probably wanted some juicy stuff for the newsletter. “When did you say this was going to be published?”

“In January.”

“Well then, let’s go for it.”

Mike made up his mind and raised his voice as if Harvey was in the room with them. “Harvey, stop saying you’re going to fire me! I know you don’t mean it! You simply care too much about me! Just think about it. What would you do without me? You need someone to do all the legwork for you! Oh, and it wouldn’t kill you to give me some encouraging words more often! I work so hard to earn your praise even when it’s just two or three words! Don’t you ever feel bad for me? Since we’ve established that you caaaare about me a lot, please feel free to shower me with your compliments!”

Mike had a feeling that he had pushed it a little too far. He looked at the interviewer with his puppy eyes, but the woman shook her head with an apologetic face. There was no way in the world that she wouldn’t publish this slashy piece of gem.

 

*********************************************************************************************************

 

The next day the two lawyers greeted each other in Harvey’s office first thing in the morning. They were supposed to take pictures for the newsletter.

“Mike.”

“Harvey.”

“I see you put on your best suit.”

“Yes. How do I look?” Mike asked a little nervously. Apparently his grandmother had told everyone in the nursing home that her grandson would be featured in the ‘Get to know who you work with’ section of the company newsletter.

“Your tie is a little crooked.”

Harvey undid his associate’s tie a little and Mike looked down. That’s when Harvey chose to tap the tip of Mike’s nose with his finger.

“Very mature, Harvey!”

Harvey grinned and Mike was about to do something to get back at him when he heard two female voices giggling.

“Ladies?” Harvey addressed the photographers who had stepped into his office.

“Oh sorry, Mr. Specter. We couldn’t resist taking a picture of you fixing Mr. Ross’ tie. My name is Rebecca.”

“Mine is Abby.”

The women shook hands with Harvey and Mike and explained that Rebecca will be in charge of the combined photo shoot and Harvey’s individual shoot while Abby will take care of Mike’s individual shoot.

“Let me guess. You drew the short stick?” Mike joked at Abby.

“I believe I got the long stick.” She winked at him.

“Did you hear that, Harvey?” Mike had a smug look on his face. Perhaps Harvey was right when he said that suits mattered.

“Yeah yeah, you kids have fun later.”

Harvey helped the women set up the lights and they were soon good to go.

The first scene was easy. While Rebecca made the boys stand in front of the window and look down at the city, Abby handed them each a cup of coffee. They had to hold their mugs with one hand and stick their other hand in their pocket.

“Good. Just look out the window and relax.” Rebecca took several shots from different angles.

By the time the coffee had gone cold, it was time for the second scene which was trickier. Mike was asked to enact one of his passionate ‘Tell Harvey what I’ve found’ moments.

“I’ve got an idea, Mike. Why don’t you go with that ‘I failed to not be awesome’ one? You looked like a complete idiot but I think it would be dramatic enough for a photo shoot.”

Mike smiled. “That’s a great idea. Are you going to dodge the bullet again?”

“Sure. Why not.”

The guys shared a chuckle while the women had no idea what they were talking about.

Meanwhile, Jessica was walking down the hallway with a satisfied look on her face. She had been told that Harvey was nicely cooperating.

‘Good boy.’ She thought as she looked into Harvey’s office.

Apparently the boys were shooting a scene where they were working together at the coffee table. There were piles of files on the table and both had their jackets off. Mike had loosened his tie while Harvey had rolled up his sleeves. They were sitting next to each other with a focused look on their faces.

‘Now how nice is that? A senior partner and his associate working hard for the firm.’

She liked the image and was about to head back to her office when she heard Harvey’s voice.

“I think we’re sitting close enough, Rebecca.”

“But I want your knees to touch!” The photographer was adamant.

“It’s art.” Abby explained.

Harvey was going to say that he and Mike never really sat that close to each other when he spotted Jessica outside his office.

‘Right. Full cooperation.’

He looked at Mike who was busy acting, reading the file in front of him.

‘Is he worth all this trouble?’

Harvey grumbled and then cursed Jessica when he found himself moving closer to Mike.

*****

The individual photo shoots went better as there were no instructions to follow. They just did their usual work and pretended that they didn’t have a shadow following them around with a camera. Harvey didn’t have a problem from the beginning, but it took Mike a while to get used to it.

“It’s okay, Mike. I promise you my camera will not suck in your soul.” Abby giggled as she stood in front of his cubicle.

“I’ve never done these kinds of things. Can you tell me when I’m doing something right? I don’t want to look all awkward in the pictures.”

“Don’t worry. You’re very photogenic even when you’re just sitting there. You’ll look amazing in the pictures. Trust me.” Abby wanted to ruffle his hair but forced her hand to stand down.

“Thanks, Abby. You’re the best.” Mike smiled and got back to work.

“Oh yes, hold still. Keep that highlighter in your mouth.” Abby quickly snapped a few pictures, thrilled to have gotten something that would look lovely on her pillow.

*****

The following day, Deb was busy finding the right words to describe Harvey’s elegance when someone knocked on the door and poked his head in the office.

“Excuse me? Hi, I’m looking for Deb.”

The woman gasped sharply as she realized who had come to see her.

“Hi! I’m Deb! Come on in, please!” She greeted him a little too cheerfully.

“Oh, good. You’re in a good mood.” Mike let out a sigh of relief and Deb offered him a seat in front of her desk.

“So Mr. Ross, what can I do for you?” She asked with sparkling eyes.

“Uh, please call me Mike. And, I um…” Mike played with his fingers, looking a little embarrassed.

“What is it, Mike? Let me help you.” The woman used her best soothing voice.

Mike looked up with hope in his eyes. “I know this sounds silly, but I was wondering if you could let me take a quick look at Harvey’s interview before it gets published.”

Deb smiled. “You want to know what he said about you, huh?”

Mike nodded, looking at anywhere but her.

Deb chuckled and turned on the printer. “Just give me a minute. Luckily for you, Beth and I have already finished the transcripts.”

“Oh, great! Thank you.”

Mike was trying to find something to compliment when Elizabeth walked in.

“Hi, Beth. Black looks great on you.” He smiled.

Elizabeth smiled back. “Thanks, Mike, but it’s dark blue.”

“Oh… Well, dark blue looks great on you too!” Mike rushed out of the office as soon as the printer finished its job.

“You can keep it! Just don’t let other people read it before it comes out!” Deb yelled at the pretty back that was disappearing from her sight.

*****

Five minutes later, Mike was busy reading Harvey’s interview in the files room. If he had read it in his cubicle, he was sure that Harold would’ve begged him to let him read it. He didn’t want to put Deb or Beth in a difficult position so he figured that the files room would be a safe place to read it- and in his case, to memorize every single word of it.

‘Oh my god, he said he appreciates how I can think on my feet! Since when does Harvey appreciate anything so openly? God bless the company newsletter!’

Mike felt his heart race as he read at an even more superhuman speed than usual.

‘What! We function all right? Excuse me, Harvey Specter, I think we function more than all right! We’re probably the best team this firm has ever seen! Hmm, unless Jessica and Harvey were once a team. She mentored him. Perhaps they worked on several cases together.’

Suddenly he felt a pang of jealousy. He knew that he hadn’t been in the picture when Jessica had taken Harvey under her wings, but he refused to think that Harvey and Jessica could’ve had better chemistry than Harvey and him.

‘Well, I bet they never did a nice photo shoot together. Take that, Jessica!’ He felt a little better now.

Mike took a sip of Red Bull and kept reading.

 _A: … But I do engage in fist bumps occasionally. He loves it._

Mike smiled. Harvey was damn right. He loved those fist bumps. He remembered the first time that Harvey had agreed to do it. It was burned in his memory how Harvey had checked the hallway to see if anyone was there to watch him ‘gloat in poor taste’.

‘I don’t think I was the only one who loved that moment.’

Mike chuckled. Harvey had looked like an excited kid who was doing something that he wasn’t supposed to do.

 _Q: Your associate is very competent. Don’t other partners ever get jealous and try to take him away from you?_

‘Oh gosh, she actually asked this? Way to go, Deb! She’s a hell of a brave woman! Or maybe she had too much caffeine!’

Mike finished his Red Bull and took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to let himself get disappointed even if Harvey had been all cool about it.

‘I know he cares about me. That’s all that matters. It’s not like we have to display it in front of the whole firm. Besides, I’ve got my dream job all thanks to him. I’ve got everything to thank him for. He can say whatever he wants even if it disappoints me.’

Mike managed to calm himself down and read Harvey’s answer.

 _A: Since you asked, I’d like to take this opportunity to make myself clear on the matter. If you’re a partner in this firm and reading this interview, I advise you to take your eyes off my associate. I’ve hired him myself and trained him with my own hands. I don’t want to threaten anyone but you’ve probably heard of what I’m capable of, so back off when I ask so nicely._

“Aww, Harvey, you shouldn’t have.”

Mike burst into a fit of giggles, unable to control his emotions. He felt good. Well, that was a huge understatement. He felt great! Harvey’s answer made him feel super competent and extra special.

‘He’s practically screaming that he cares about me! Now the whole firm will know!’

He giggled some more. This was definitely the first thing that he was going to show his grandmother.

Then Mike wondered if Harvey would want to know what he had said about him.

‘Nah, he’s a big time lawyer who doesn’t care about what others say about him. Besides, I don’t think he’d appreciate what I said for the last question.’

Mike shuddered at the thought about Harvey finding out, but then…

“He really cares about me!”

Since nobody else was in the room, he figured that he could dance a little. He stood up and was about to do just that when his phone rang. It was Harvey.

‘Damn, he really hates it when I gloat, doesn’t he? How did he even know I was going to dance?’

Mike picked up the phone. “Yes, Harvey.”

“I hear you have the transcript. Hand it over when you’re done with it.”

Mike paled. “Uh, Deb warned me not to show anyone.”

“I’m not anyone, Mike. I’m one of the interviewees.”

Mike relaxed. “Oh, you want your transcript? Sure. I’ll give it to you right away.”

“Very cute, rookie. I hear you have _both_ of our transcripts.”

Mike felt that it was a good time to pale again.

“You have ten minutes to finish reading it and to bring it to my office.” Harvey hung up.

‘Holy shit! I’m so fired!’ Mike held his head in his hands and let out a moan.

*****

 _Knock-knock._

“Harvey?”

Harvey bit back a chuckle as he noticed that Mike’s voice was as tiny as an ant’s.

“Done reading?” He looked up to find Mike nodding with the transcripts in his hands.

“Good. Leave them on the desk and get back to work.”

“Okay.”

Mike left the file that contained the transcripts on the end of Harvey’s desk and turned around to leave.

“Wait a minute.” Harvey stopped him. It was all going way too easy. He had expected Mike to have said something silly in his interview and therefore to resist handing over the transcripts.

As Harvey reached for the file, Mike decided to bolt. “I’m sorry, Harvey! I really am!”

Harvey realized what Mike meant when he opened the file. Large chunks of Mike’s answers had been blacked out with a pen.


	4. New members on board

It was another delightful afternoon at Pearson-Hardman when Harold was walking down the hallway with his toothbrush in his hand.

‘Ah… how does Harvey always manage to wear the right suits? The light grey he chose is just perfect with today’s weather!’

He wished that he could secretly take pictures of Harvey and keep them in an album. There were days when he had actually brought his camera to work, but he was too afraid that Harvey would catch him and kick him out of the firm; he wasn’t afraid of losing his job, he was afraid that he would lose the opportunity to see Harvey every day.

“Oh finally!!”

Harold heard an ecstatic female voice coming from the ladies’ lounge. He always had his ears wide open whenever he passed the lounge. If he ever wanted to have a girlfriend, he needed to understand how girls operated. Recently he had noticed some suspicious activities inside the lounge and this cry of joy was just another proof.

‘Let’s find out what it’s about.’

Harold pressed his ear against the door and focused on the voice of the woman who was talking. It sounded like Donna.

“Okay, so you can check out all the new Marvey items on our Facebook page. If you have any feedback or ideas for our future items, please leave them on Facebook too.”

‘Marvey items?’ Harold wondered what ‘Marvey’ was. It sounded awfully close to Harvey. Whatever it was, it made all the ladies make all kinds of happy sounds.

‘Wait a second. Is ‘Marvey’ Mike and Harvey…?’

Harold gasped. He had just found a new reason to live.

‘Oh my god! I need to get on that Facebook page!!’

Harold didn’t bother to knock on the door. He yanked the door open and threw himself into the lounge. He needed redemption more than anything right now.

Ten minutes later, Norma was busy testing Harold’s loyalty towards Harvey and Mike. All the members had agreed that the Marvey fan club should not discriminate on grounds of gender, race or rank and that the club could use a masculine touch. Norma told them that if Harold turned out to be Marveyed enough, he could help them recruit more male members. Norma knew that Harold was quite close to Mike as they sat next to each other in the associates’ area, but she wasn’t going to let just anyone join her privileged club.

“You passed your oral test but I need to be absolutely sure. So you’ll have to submit an essay as your writing test. Please write 3 pages about why Harvey and Mike should be together and hand it to me by Tuesday.”

“3 pages in A4?” Harold asked incredulously.

“Yes.”

“That’s absurd!”

“What do you mean ‘absurd’?”

“How can you cram all of their awesomeness into three pages? I’ll need at least five!”

Norma smiled fondly. She had no idea if Harold knew how to write, but at least he had the right attitude to be a member of the club.

*****

That night, Harold was in his bed with his laptop, checking out his newly found Heaven. The fan club had a whole variety of items with Harvey and Mike’s pictures on them. The products ranged from a simple mug with Harvey’s picture and initials from ladies’ underwear with both Harvey and Mike’s smiling faces on the back.

‘Aww, no underwear for men?’ Harold quickly typed in his suggestion and started to click on all the products that he wanted.

‘Let’s see.’

He selected Harvey’s autographed poster where Harvey was working at his desk with his sleeves rolled up (he assumed that Donna got his signature from his files), a baby blue T-shirt where Harvey was fixing Mike’s tie, and a DVD of Marvey moments in the office.

‘I could really use that raise.’

Harold sighed as he looked at all the other items he wanted to purchase. Besides, Donna had left an announcement that a calendar with half-naked Harvey and Mike pictures were coming soon.

‘I am never going to quit this firm! Long live Pearson-Hardman! I will die with this firm!!’

Harold sent in his order and reminded himself to take enough cash to work so that he could get his hands on the items as soon as possible. Then he turned off his laptop and happily went to sleep.

 

************************************************************************************************************

 

The next day, Donna knocked on Jessica’s office to fill her in on what was going on under her nose.

“Come on in.” Jessica offered her a seat on the couch, wondering what she wanted to talk about. She had assumed that Harvey had done something stupid, but Donna looked quite excited.

“Thanks for seeing me in such a short notice.” Donna was polite. She needed Jessica in a good mood.

“No problem. What can I do for you? Is it about Harvey?”

“Yes, as usual.” Donna smiled.

“I don’t know what that man would do without you. He wouldn’t even know how old he is unless you tell him.”

The women shared a laugh and Donna told Jessica about how they had an underground organization in the firm who were trying to give Harvey a more humane touch. It had actually started with finding the perfect man for Mike, but Jessica didn’t have to know that. Harvey was the only one in this whole firm who could get her attention, and Donna was going to exploit it. She told the managing partner about the current size of the club, all the projects they had conducted so far, and what they had planned for the future.

“And you think Ross has the ability to break the curse?” Jessica was amused.

“Yes. We can provide visual and aural evidence if you need.”

“How did you get hard evidence like that?”

“With the IT department’s help.” Donna grinned. “You know I’d do anything for Harvey.”

Jessica nodded as she kept a thoughtful expression. “You do know that we have a strict policy when it comes to employees of different ranks getting emotionally involved with each other.”

“Yes, that’s precisely why I came to see you.”

“You want me to make them an exception?”

“No. I would like to ask you to consider changing the bylaws when you decide that they have a good chance at making it. Other employees would hate to see the already beloved team being an exception to the rules.”

“You actually think Harvey would fall for his own associate?”

Donna pulled out a DVD from the file that she had brought in with her. “Both pictures and footage.”

Jessica picked up the DVD. “You do realize that Harvey could sue you if he finds out you’re making a profit out of these.”

“He won’t find out unless you tell him. Wouldn’t you like it better if Harvey made your life easier?”

“How would him going out with Ross make my life any easier?”

“If he’s emotionally stable and satisfied, wouldn’t he try less hard to get your attention? Don’t you try your best every day to forgive him for all the stupid things he’s done just to get your attention?”

Jessica looked at the secretary. She had a point. She tried hard every god damn day to forgive Harvey. Besides, Harvey wasn’t just her most valuable employee; she deeply cared about him and wanted to see him happy.

She didn’t know Mike Ross well yet, but he had proved to her that he could be useful and smart. The mock trial may have left a bad impression, but if she was looking for qualities in a man who could possibly smooth Harvey’s swanlike feathers, naivety and softness might not be the worst ones.

“I’ll think about it when the time comes.”

“Thank you. You can keep the DVD.” Donna smiled and left her office before she could change her mind.

Jessica walked back to her desk with the DVD in her hand. She was dying to see what kind of moments Harvey had with his associate. She was ready to burst into laughter at the mere thought of Harvey doing something visibly nice for someone on a regular basis.

‘Well, it’ll have to wait till I get home.’

She slipped the DVD in her bag and reminded herself to keep an eye out for those two. She could always use some entertainment in the office.

*****

As soon as she got home, Jessica put the DVD in her DVD player. Donna had told her that the two shared a much stronger bond than a regular senior partner and an associate would share but that there wasn’t anything going on yet that would violate the anti-fraternization policy.

‘Let’s take a look.’

She sat on the couch with a glass of gin and tonic. She was no expert in relationships but she could read Harvey like an open book. If Harvey had even the slightest interest in his associate, she would be able to recognize it.

The DVD started with Donna talking about the footage. She also explained that the IT department had done its very best to enhance the images.

‘When does that woman have time to do all this?’

Jessica rarely had favorite secretaries but she knew that Donna was a keeper. She had always been grateful that Harvey had brought her into the firm, and she had given her two confidential employee codes to keep her happy.

The screen showed Harvey bumping shoulders with Mike as they walked down the hallway. They were both wearing an easy smile and it looked like they were exchanging banter. Then Mike must have said something witty because Harvey’s eyes glittered with interest. He even chuckled a little and patted Mike on the shoulder.

‘He’s a smart kid. It could be purely intellectual.’

She kept watching as she made a mental note to order the head of the IT department to replace the security cameras with the newest models.

‘We need sound too. Or at least a lip reader. It would be easier to determine whether Harvey’s interested or not, if I can hear his voice.’

Jessica let out a disapproving sound as the next scene showed similar exchanges between the two. She was about to press forward on the remote control when she caught Harvey’s hand lingering a little longer than necessary on Mike’s shoulder.

‘Oh, now we’re talking.’

She took another sip of her glass and paid attention to Harvey’s face. She didn’t really care if Mike was interested in Harvey. If Harvey was interested in Mike, Mike would eventually fall for his boss because Harvey always got what he wanted. She watched as Harvey seemingly teased his associate, saved him from Louis or the other associates, and fixed his tie, hair or suit.

‘Fascinating. Spending quite some time in front of an associate’s cubicle.’

Then her eyes drifted to Mike who freely enjoyed a laugh in the hallway with his hand on Harvey’s arm.

‘Hmm, he doesn’t really look like a lawyer, does he? I’ve never seen a Harvard graduate like him.’

Jessica watched as Mike looked up at Harvey with soft eyes. She could easily tell that he sincerely respected Harvey and that he was determined to impress him. Harvey was right. Mike did look like a puppy.

‘Hasn’t this been fun.’

She put the DVD on pause and finished her glass. She had seen enough. Harvey seemed to smile a lot around the kid; not the kind of smile that he presented to his clients but a relaxed smile that only a few people had access to. In her mind, that itself was proof that the kid meant something to him.

Feeling tipsy, Jessica smiled at her right hand in the screen. ‘You just wait, boy. Mama’s gonna get you hitched.’


	5. The team spirit

**Step 5: Team spirit** (Project ‘Pheromone’)

“You can’t be serious. A calendar?” Harvey growled as he sank into one of Jessica’s chair.

“It’s for the clients, Harvey.”

“Mike and I already shot enough pictures for the newsletter. Can’t they just use some of those?”

Jessica bit back a malicious smile as she realized that she had an opportunity to test just how much Harvey cared about his associate.

“You will stand in front of the camera with him and, once again, give your full cooperation.”

“I assume there’s an ‘or’.” Harvey groaned.

“Or I’ll send Mike with Louis who’s going to a client’s pool party.”

“A pool party.”

“Yes. The dress code is Speedos for men and bikinis for women.” She made it all up.

Jessica didn’t miss the flash of anger and something that bordered on jealousy cross Harvey’s face. She really shouldn’t be threatening or testing the best lawyer she had, but this was exciting.

“You think I wouldn’t want to send Mike to a pool party?” Harvey’s game face was on.

“I think you wouldn’t want to send him where he would be subjected to Louis and a pair of Speedos.”

Harvey watched Jessica’s face. She was definitely up to something.

“Well, I don’t need a traumatized associate.”

“Exactly.” Jessica remembered that her ultimate goal was to make Harvey pose for next year’s calendar. Upon Donna’s suggestion, Pearson-Hardman would be sending its VIP clients a calendar with its best employees’ pictures.

“It’s not just you and Mike. We’ll have Donna, Rachel, and some of the partners too.”

“So you admit Mike and I look great for the company.” Harvey grinned.

A smile lifted the corner of her mouth when Harvey said ‘Mike and I’ for the second time; Harvey always used ‘I’, not ‘someone and I’.

“Yes, you guys look cute.” She told Harvey what he wanted to hear and shooed him out of the office. She had to call the IT department right away.

*****

Meanwhile, there was a warlike atmosphere hanging over the ladies’ lounge. As soon as their next project was announced, the members had been fighting over the parts. The project required six people in total; make-up artists for each Marvey boy, hair stylists for each, a photographer and her assistant. The ladies had completely lost their cool as soon as Norma had informed them that Harvey and Mike would be half-naked in some of the pictures.

“Don’t even dream about it. Nobody touches the puppy’s hair except Harvey and me.” Margaret hissed.

“Says who?!” Elizabeth glared at her.

“You girls can fight over his hair. But I’m not giving up his face and chest.” Echo thought about how it would feel to apply powder on Mike’s chest.

“You’re drooling, girl. You know you can’t drool in front of him. You’re obviously not fit for the job.” Logan deduced.

“Save your breaths, everyone. I have the best portfolio so I’ll get the job anyway.” Emma beamed.

“It’s not just about technique. It’s about understanding Mike’s face.” Abby said.

“I thought you wanted to take his pictures.” Linda frowned.

“I was just adding my two cents.” Abby shrugged.

The situation was similar in the Harveyed battlefield; it was just a little more intense.

“What did you just say?” Jess huffed.

“I said you don’t have the guts to powder his perfect chest.” Deb snapped. She was usually a wonderful person but her coworker was being impossible.

“Oh, and you think you do?” Jess shot back.

“Ladies, please!” Norma managed to hold off the two before they started to grab each other’s hair.

Unfortunately, Rachel wasn’t too successful at mending quarrels. “Could we just take a deep breath for a second?”

“But she wants to be in charge of Harvey’s makeup! That’s my job!” Stacey pointed at Jenna.

“Oh, woman, you are not going anywhere near his moles!” Jenna was ready to put her sharp fingernails to use.

“Neither are you! I’m going to do it!” Rebecca shot her coworkers a nasty glare.

“Dibs on his hair then!” Nusaiba yelled as Rachel tried to make her stop jumping.

“Pfft, you don’t have enough experience in using wax! I used to work at a hair salon when I was in college!” Jenna yelled.

“I thought you wanted his moles!” Nusaiba cried.

“Well, I’m not picky! Just get me close to him!” Jenna felt light-headed after all the yelling. She would have to get fresh air after securing her spot in the project.

 

****************************************************************************************************************************

 

The day of the photo shoot had finally arrived. While all the Marvey fans waited in agony, Norma had accepted Harold’s application and had managed to get some male members on board. Ray and Benjamin were the first ones to join. Then some of the associates from other floors and some of the partners had eventually come along.

Now that they had male members in the club, they could no longer hold their meetings in the ladies’ lounge. So Norma had to book a large conference room with blinds two or three times a week. She and Donna were doing so much work for the club that they were both exhausted. Of course, Rachel and other members helped out, but there was so much to be done to lay the perfect groundwork for a perfect club.

Norma and Donna were currently having coffee in the studio, waiting for the rest of the people to arrive. Since the calendar was meant to be a gift for VIP clients, Jessica had told them to get it done in one of the best studios in the city.

“God, I can’t remember the last time I was this exhausted.” Donna yawned as she poured more coffee into her system.

“Same here. Yesterday I almost fell asleep while Louis was talking to me.” Norma mirrored her yawn.

“Oh, I thought you never listened anyway.”

“Well, I try to pretend.”

Donna smiled and spotted Harvey coming into the studio with Mike right behind him. It was show time.

*****

Mike walked into the studio, completely terrified. He had been nervous for the newsletter pictures too, but this was different. This was going to be distributed outside the firm and they were shooting it in a luxurious studio, and most importantly, he had to be shirtless at some point. His understanding was that the VIP clients had many different tastes so they had to provide them with as much variety as possible.

He had asked for Abby who had shot his individual pictures for the newsletter because she had made him very comfortable. She had reassured him that Jessica would never approve of ungraceful pictures and that she would make the shirtless pictures look as artistic as she possibly could.

“Hi, Mike. I’m Emma. I’ll be handling your hair today.” The pretty woman smiled.

“Oh, hi. I thought you might be in the calendar too.” Mike said. The woman had full makeup on and her hair looked perfect.

Emma’s smile became brighter as she guided Mike to his chair.

“Hi , I’m Echo. I’m in charge of your makeup.” Another beautiful woman offered her hand and Mike shook it with delight. He loved working with lovely girls.

Feeling much better, Mike sat down in his chair and saw that Harvey was already seated, looking comfortable as if he owned the place. He seemed to be exchanging funny jokes with the ladies around him and Mike could see his laughter lines appear in full force.

‘I thought that was _our_ thing. He can’t just do it with other people in front of me.’ Mike knew that exchanging jokes was no big deal, but it just didn’t feel right.

“Okay, let’s get you started.” Echo opened her makeup box.

Mike nodded and looked over to the other side. Harvey had taken off his jacket and was unbuttoning his vest as a lady handed him a pair of black jeans.

“Oh, are we shooting the shirtless ones first?” Mike asked nervously.

“Yes. It’s better to get it over with first.” Emma answered as she applied a little bit of gel on Mike’s hair. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from moaning. His hair felt exactly like Mike; soft with a little bit of bite.

Echo was experiencing a similar problem as she put some eye cream around Mike’s blue eyes. ‘Oh god, let’s try not to shake. I should look professional!’

Thankfully for them, Mike was busy watching Harvey take off his tie and unbutton his shirt while ladies worked on his face and hair.

“Um… Don’t we have a changing room?” Mike asked.

“Of course we do. No worries.” Echo smiled, almost pinching his cheek. She had to pretend that Mike had something on his right cheek to save herself from the embarrassment.

*****

On the other side of the studio, Harvey had just handed over his shirt and undershirt to a woman called Deb who looked thrilled to help him. Actually every single lady around him did. It was a piece of cake for Harvey to read the faces that he saw at the office, especially when the women had no intention of hiding their interests.

Harvey caught Mike staring at his bare chest and got an idea. Jess had warned him that makeup will take a very long time, so he had to entertain himself.

“Ladies, I have a suggestion for you.” He smiled mischievously at the thought of teasing his puppy.

Mike was listening to Abby who explained the concept of today’s shots when he saw Harvey’s ladies put lotion on his chest.

‘What on earth are they doing?? Why isn’t he stopping them? Isn’t that blatant sexual harassment?’

Mike’s jaw dropped at the manicured hands roaming all over his boss’ torso. ‘Oh my god! They have no shame or what? How can they do that to someone they’ll keep seeing around in the office?!’

Mike wondered if he should report it to Jessica, but Harvey looked like he was enjoying the attention.

“Is everything all right, Mike? You look upset.” Logan asked, wondering if he was experiencing any kind of jealousy. None of the club members had expected Harvey to act like that, but it was clearly helping their cause.

“I’m fine.” Mike said. “Can I have something to drink please?”

“Sure! Coming right away.” Logan headed over to the mini-fridge.

Mike tried hard not to pay attention to Harvey’s side of the studio, but the ladies were making it difficult.

“Ahahaha! That’s so funny, Mr. Specter!” Jess giggled.

“How can you be so handsome and witty?” Jenna asked.

“I’ve never laughed so much in my life! Hahaha…” Claire was pretty much bent in half.

Mike groaned and downed his apple juice in one go. Mike’s girls watched in awe as his Adam’s apple moved up and down.

“Sorry. Please carry on with the makeup.” Mike apologized and shot a glance at Harvey.

Harvey stared right into his associate’s eyes. He had been right; this was highly entertaining. The kid looked upset and shaken, and for some reason it gave him a dark sense of pleasure.

Harvey let the ladies powder his chest and watched Mike get undressed in his chair. Mike wasn’t looking at him, but Harvey could tell that Mike was aware of his stare. His associate rushed through the process, quickly shedding clothes with a slightly flushed face. Harvey bit back a smile at how nervous Mike looked. Ladies from both sides were ravishing his puppy with their eyes and it was obvious that Mike felt it.

“Do you think I’ll need a lot of powder? I feel weird having someone work on my chest.” Mike scratched the back of his head.

“Don’t touch the hair, please! It’s perfect right now!” Emma yelled. She had worked hard to give him sexy bed hair. When she spotted Harvey’s eyes wander over Mike’s hair, she knew that she had done a wonderful job. Unfortunately for her, Mike had noticed it too.

“Do any of you happen to agree that payback’s a bitch?” He asked his girls.

“But of course!” Margaret agreed, caressing his messenger bag behind her back.

“Always!” Echo nodded firmly.

“Great! Perhaps you guys can help me then.” Mike’s eyes shined as he looked straight into Harvey’s eyes.

“What do you need us to do?” Elizabeth asked, her hand already tickling with excitement.

Mike smiled and gathered his girls around.

Harvey’s eyes darkened as he saw the girls happily and messily run their hands in his puppy’s hair. ‘Who gave them permission to do that? He’s _my_ associate. Nobody lays a hand on him without asking me first.’

Mike enjoyed Harvey’s reaction but he was too shy to do the same with his chest. He let Echo apply as little powder as necessary and got an earful from Emma for making her do his hair all over again.

“You know what? I think it looks sexier this way.” Emma took a few steps back and observed. “Yes, I’ll leave it like this. You want to see the mirror?”

Mike nodded and took the hand mirror from her. He looked debauched with his hair looking as if someone had constantly pulled it and his lips shining as if he had been thoroughly kissed. His cheeks had a little pink on them, making him look flushed.

“It’s art.” Abby smiled. “Now go get changed, will you?”

“Okay.” Mike took the white jeans and headed to the changing room. He never really understood how art worked, so he was going to keep his mouth shut and do what he was told.

“Oh, sorry, Harvey. I didn’t know you were in there.”

“It’s fine. Come in.” Harvey said as he zipped up his jeans.

Mike stood in one corner and kicked off his shoes and socks before dealing with his belt. He glanced at Harvey and noticed that he was busy checking himself out in the mirror.

“Wow, you really love yourself, don’t you?” Mike chuckled as he took his pants off.

“If you were me, you’d feel the same way.” Harvey looked at Mike through the mirror. “Wait. Is that my underwear?” He turned around.

Mike pushed his legs into the jeans. “Uh… yeah. You said I could keep it.”

“I did, but I didn’t mean that you could wear it to work.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s weird.”

“Well, it’s my underwear now, so don’t feel weird.”

Harvey let out a disapproving grunt.

Mike snapped. The uneasiness of the whole situation was getting the better of him. “Well, what was I supposed to do? I had to bring my A game to look somewhat okay in the same frame with you!”

Harvey looked at his associate as if he had said something stupid. “You’re young, Mike. Youth usually looks good in any kind of picture.”

Mike wasn’t convinced.

“Besides, you look gorgeous. You think I’d choose an associate who doesn’t?”

Mike smiled. His boss definitely knew how to make him feel better.

*****

The photo shoot went smoothly as Abby took shot after shot while Rebecca and Logan helped the boys with props and poses. Logan handed Mike a yellow highlighter to stick behind his ear, tied his skinny tie loosely around his neck, and pinned his ID card onto the tie. They were supposed to shoot for July and January; the shirtless pictures were obviously for July.

“Great. Now please put your left hand on his shoulder, Mr. Specter.”

Mike hadn’t felt chilly or cold but Harvey’s hand felt soothingly warm on his bare shoulder.

“Could you tickle him a little so he’d laugh? He looks so tense in the shots.” Abby asked.

“Sure.”

“Oh no… You’re not coming anywhere near me.”

Mike saw Harvey grin and tried to escape, but he couldn’t do much when Harvey had a firm grip on his shoulder.

“Ahahaha! Stop it, Harvey!”

Harvey tickled Mike’s side with his free hand. Apparently his associate was very ticklish.

“Oh, you must stop or I’ll… ahahaha!”

Mike’s laughter brought a huge smile on everyone’s face and the photographer happily clicked away.

Mike thought that the difficult part was over when he rushed into the suit that Logan handed him, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. Abby instructed them to stand back to back and that was when the real trouble started.

“Good. Now turn your heads and look at me, please.”

‘Okay… this is a little uncomfortable.’ Mike wanted to take a step forward so that his backside wouldn’t be pressed against his boss’.

‘How can he be so calm? He does this often with other guys? Okay… Let’s not think about what he does with other guys. That’s just wrong.’

“Will you stop fidgeting already? You’ll look like a puppy that needs to pee.” Harvey told him.

“Sorry.”

Mike stood completely still, looking at the camera, but his brain refused to stay still.

‘Will I really look like an unnerved puppy? I’d hate that. These boxers are supposed to bring me good luck. What good luck did I have today? Well, I liked working with the girls but...’

“Mike.” Harvey warned him.

“I moved again? Sorry…”

As Mike apologized for the second time, Abby finally yelled. “It’s a wrap!”


	6. H&M

‘Hmm, that is really weird.’

Mike observed as he rested his chin on his hand. All morning, he saw coworkers happily walk around with a white bag that was written ‘H&M’ in red. He had gotten curious and had tracked down the source; everyone seemed to be getting it from Donna. He knew that H&M was a famous Swedish clothing company, but he couldn’t figure out what the connection was between Donna and the brand.

‘I need to take a closer look.’ Thankfully, he had the perfect excuse to walk up to her area.

“Hey, Donna, can I put this file on Harvey’s desk? He told me he’d need it by eleven.” Mike asked as he eyed yet another woman walk away with a shopping bag, beaming as if she had won the lottery.

“Sure. Go ahead.”

Donna didn’t even look at him. She was busy distributing the Marvey items as discreetly as possible. She had chosen this particular day because Harvey had a long meeting with other partners on another floor.

Mike went inside the office and left the file but didn’t go back to his cubicle. “Donna, will you answer me if I ask you what you’re up to?”

“No, Mike.”

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t concern you.”

“Are you like a wholesaling middleman or something? And, why doesn’t it concern me? I saw Harold get a bag too. You must be dealing with men’s outfit too then.”

Donna gave him a warm smile. “Let it go, Mike. When the time comes, you’ll get to know.”

“But the mystery is killing me! Please, Donna.” Mike worked his puppy eyes.

“Oh, that’s not fair. You can’t do that to extract information out of me.” Donna said sternly.

“Pleeease. I won’t tell anyone!”

They were so immersed in the conversation that they didn’t hear footsteps approaching them.

“What’s the puppy begging for?” Harvey asked. He had come to take a break from the meeting.

“Nothing.” Mike answered quickly. He had a feeling that Donna didn’t want Harvey to know about her extracurricular activity.

Harvey eyed Mike suspiciously as he told his secretary, “If he keeps bothering you, just throw him a small bone.”

“Got it.” Donna smiled as Harvey disappeared into the office.

“What’s a small bone?” Mike asked.

Donna knew that she had to give him a distraction. “We have new security cameras. Have you noticed?”

“Really?” Mike looked up at one corner and saw that she was right. “Wow, they’re bigger and scarier. Jessica’s big on keeping her dogs on their toes?”

“Something like that.” Donna grinned. Jessica had taken her advice seriously and had gone for the best model out there.

Mike kept observing the new camera as Donna let out a tired yawn. She should really get more sleep if she wanted to stay healthy and beautiful.

“Uh, Donna? Is there some sort of a motion sensor attached to the camera?” Mike asked.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I think it’s following me.” Mike proved his point as he took a few steps to the right. The camera indeed followed him.

“Oh, I don’t know. We have cameras for security reasons. It’s not there to catch your every move so don’t worry about it.” Donna delightfully lied through her teeth.

“Okay…” Mike shrugged and left Donna in peace. He completely forgot about the H&M bags as he felt camera after camera follow him all the way back to his cubicle.

*****

The next day, the unthinkable happened at Pearson-Hardman. Harvey felt it as soon as he had walked out of the car (the building looked different) and Mike felt it as soon as he had stepped out of the elevator (the air smelled different). Donna was absent from work.

“Is the world coming to an end? I thought it was going to end next year! That film ‘2012’ is a lie!” Harold cried with his hands in the air.

“I knew she had too much work. I should’ve helped her more.” Rachel bit her fingernails to lessen the guilt.

“It’s not your fault. She’s an incredibly strong woman. She’ll get over it and work even harder.” Norma offered her a piece of comfort.

“Are you sure she fell ill from overwork?” Mike asked as he dropped his messenger bag on his desk. Harvey hadn’t had that many cases during these past two weeks, so he couldn’t think of what could have pushed Donna to illness.

“Of course we’re sure.” All three of them snapped, scaring Mike.

“Okay… I just asked because I should probably go see her.” Mike cared about Donna and knew that she didn’t have any family close by.

“That’s a wonderful idea.” Norma encouraged him.

“Yeah, I would’ve joined you if I didn’t have a hundred things to do today.” Rachel sighed.

“I’ll let you guys know how she’s doing. For now, I’ll have to go get Harvey’s permission.”

Mike started walking towards Harvey’s office. The security cameras kept following him and it strangely seemed like they only followed him around, but he had almost gotten used to it. He kept walking until he saw another girl sitting in Donna’s area. “Uh, good morning?”

“Oh, good morning.” Claire smiled and explained, “I’m Donna’s replacement for the day. I’ll be assisting you and Mr. Specter until she gets back. I hope that’s all right.”

“Oh, sure. I just hope Harvey will behave and won’t give you too much of a hard time.” He smiled back.

“I heard that.” Harvey was standing by the door.

“Oops.”

Mike scratched the back of his head and watched while Harvey asked Claire to take care of a few things for him. He could tell that the woman was in total awe of his boss.

‘Well, he’s great at what he does and he does it with style. Who wouldn’t be in awe?’ Mike thought and noticed that Harvey looked a little lost without Donna around.

‘Would he look like that without me too? Or would he just look for someone else with an eidetic memory?’

Mike didn’t know why he was hurt by his own imagination. He would hate to see Harvey work with some other young thing, but it wasn’t going to happen unless he got sick or fired.

“Mike?” Harvey lifted an eyebrow. “What are you here for?”

“Oh, yeah. Can I go see Donna? Bring her something to eat? She’s probably alone.”

“Sure. Claire can give you her address and the spare key to her apartment. Tell her that she shouldn’t come back until she’s 100% fine. Tell her that it’s an order.”

“All right.”

“I can’t believe she actually missed a day.”

The worry was evident on Harvey’s face. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she’s recovering nicely, Harvey. If she needs a doctor, I’ll take her to the hospital.”

Harvey nodded. “Take Ray with you. I don’t want you to bike down there and give her street germs or something.”

Mike chuckled. “You got it. I’ll let her know your undying love for her.”

*****

With Ray’s help, it took Mike only an hour to stop for food and get to Donna’s place. He had already left her a text message and had received a green light to enter with the spare key.

“Hey, Donna. It’s Mike!” He raised his voice so that Donna would know that he had stepped into the apartment.

Mike pricked up his ears and heard a moan coming from the bedroom. He left the food on the coffee table and knocked on the half-open bedroom door. “Hey, can I come in?”

“Yeah, get in here, puppy.” Donna sounded heavily medicated.

“How are you feeling? Any better?” Mike kissed her cheek and put the back of his hand on her forehead. Thankfully, she didn’t have a fever.

“Much better now that my cute puppy’s come to see me.” She sat up with Mike’s help.

“I’m Harvey’s puppy.” Mike quietly corrected her.

“Is that so?” Donna grinned, glad that she had her recorder on behind one of the pillows.

“I brought you some soup. Do you like chicken soup? It’s still warm.”

“I love anything with chicken in it. Are you going to feed me though? I don’t feel like moving at all.” Donna felt like acting like a child for once. Her whole body was aching. She didn’t want to lift even a finger.

“Sure. Let me go get it and find a spoon.” Mike left the bedroom and walked into the kitchen.

‘Hmm, perhaps I can help myself with a glass of juice first.’

He headed over to the fridge, feeling thirsty. He was about to open the white fridge when he spotted a picture of Harvey and him pinned on the door with a magnet.

‘Aww, she keeps a picture of us. How sweet!’

Harvey was patting him on the shoulder with a broad smile on his face. Mike smiled as he looked at the picture. He had managed to convince a big client that he should stop making his own deals behind Harvey’s back and completely trust the lawyer that he had hired.

‘Wait a second. When did she take a picture of this?’

Mike knew that Donna was waiting for her soup, so he stopped thinking about it and pulled out a bottle of grape juice. He then checked the cupboard to get a mug when he spotted something else.

‘Is that me??’

He pulled out the mug that had his face on it; he had a yellow highlighter between his lips and was probably looking straight at the camera.

‘Oh my god, did Abby leak these pictures? It’s even in color!’

But then he remembered whose kitchen he was in. ‘Donna must’ve hacked the system.’

He did a quick search inside the cupboard and found more questionable mugs. On one mug, Harvey was standing in front of his cubicle. On another one, he was walking down the hallway, laughing with Harvey. Then on another one, there was a pink heart between Harvey and him looking outside Harvey’s window.

‘What on earth is that heart?! Should I tell Harvey? Or is this going to be another little secret of ours? Perhaps she fell ill because she was too busy selling clothes and hacking into the company system! But why would she do all that? She doesn’t get paid enough? Why would she want mugs like these? And, seriously, what’s with the heart?’

“Mike? I’m starving!”

He jumped at Donna’s voice. “Yes! Sorry! I’m coming!”

He grabbed a normal mug and poured himself some grape juice. He would have to think about it after he left this place.

*****

Mike was sitting on the edge of Donna’s bed, blowing on the spoonful of soup. “Here you go. You’re almost done. Ahhh-”

“Ahh-” Donna opened her mouth and finished the chicken soup. Mike had been so sweet, filling her in on the office gossip (there wasn’t any that she hadn’t known already but she let him talk because the puppy looked so excited) and reassuring her that Harvey seemed to be working with Claire all right.

“Okay, I’ll get you a Kleenex.”

Mike left the empty bowl on the nightstand and headed to her dresser. He reached out for the Kleenex when he spotted his face on the box. The smaller version of him was in the middle of sneezing.

‘Holy shit!! This is getting creepier! Although I must say it’s an appropriate picture for a box of tissues.’ Mike thought.

“You look cute there, don’t you?” Donna decided that it was no use making excuses. It wasn’t like Harvey had caught her; she could work things out with a puppy.

Mike pulled out a tissue and brought it back to Donna so she could wipe her lips with it. “Where did you even get this picture?”

“I know a guy in the IT department.” Donna winked.

“You pulled that from the surveillance footage?” The surprise was evident in his voice. “So that’s why I felt like the cameras were only following me around!”

“Yes, you caught me. I’ve been stalking you.” Donna admitted with no guilt whatsoever.

“But why?” Mike wasn’t mad. He was just curious. He had never been popular and he suddenly had a very beautiful stalker.

“You’re cute! Do I need another reason?”

“You like me?” Mike was genuinely surprised.

“Not the way you think I do. I like you as Harvey’s puppy.” Donna was relieved that she could pull this off even if she was ill.

“What do you mean?”

Then something clicked inside Mike’s head as he remembered the pink heart on one of the mugs. “You think he and I would look good if we…” He couldn’t possibly finish the sentence. It was absurd.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” Donna grinned, reading him with ease.

“I don’t know what to say.” Mike shrugged. He knew that straight men fantasized about girl-on-girl action, so he figured that perhaps Donna, a straight girl, fantasized about guy-on-guy action.

‘Harvey and me rolling around naked? Seriously? Oh god…’

He wasn’t sure what kind of emotion he was feeling right now. He just felt the sudden urge to change the subject. “Oh, by the way, if we’re going to spill all our secrets, what’s up with you and that H&M company? Trying to make some extra cash?”

Donna suddenly developed a violent fit of coughs and Mike had to drop the subject and fetch her a glass of water.

*****

The fact that Donna shipped Harvey and him distracted Mike from his work. He had told everyone how Donna was doing and had started to work, but he kept seeing pink hearts everywhere on the papers.

‘Harvey’s not even my type. I like someone who doesn’t have a problem with emotions, who’s not afraid to admit that he cares. Donna’s just shipping us because we’re the two guys that work closest with her.’

He tried to ignore the hearts and proofread the file but his mind showed him images of when Harvey’s ladies had rubbed lotion all over his chest.

‘Okay, fine, he’s an attractive guy. But that doesn’t mean anything.’

“Psst, Mike.” Harold got his attention from the adjacent cubicle.

“Yeah?”

“While you were out, Jessica finally told us we’d be getting that raise!”

“Oh, cool.”

“I know! I can finally get that large tattoo on my back!” Harold beamed.

“You’re really going for it? What are you going to get?”

“H&M.” Harold answered proudly.

“What?! The clothing company? Why on earth would you want that?”

Harold clicked his tongue at Mike’s stunned expression. “Apparently you don’t know the fine things about life, Mike. It’s okay though. You’ll get to learn. I’ll be helping you every step of the way.”

“Uh, thanks, Harold.” Mike said with uncertainty.

“You’re welcome.” Harold gave him a bright smile and disappeared into his cubicle.

Mike had never met an H&M fanatic before, but he could tell that this must be what one looks like.

*****

Harvey was also having a hard time focusing on his work. His temporary secretary was following his every move with dreamy eyes. Claire had already crept him out by repeatedly sighing happily on the intercom while he was talking on the phone. He was aware that he had a very attractive voice but he never had someone act like that.

“Mr. Specter, is there anything else I can do to help?” Claire’s helpful voice came through the intercom.

Harvey had to admit that she was a very competent and enthusiastic individual. He had asked her to type up several documents and she hadn’t even breathed while madly interacting with her computer keyboard.

“No thanks, Claire. It’s a slow day today.”

“But sir, there’s always something to do in the office. I want Donna to have as less work as possible when she gets back. Please?”

Harvey couldn’t believe that she was begging for more work. “In that case… hang on then.”

He looked at some of the files lying on his desk, trying to lessen Mike’s workload.

“In the meantime, I could offer you a shoulder massage, Mr. Specter.”

“Excuse me?”

“You have a desk job, sir. Your shoulders could use an expert’s touch.”

“And, you’re an expert how?”

“Well, I’ve completed my training as a masseuse.” Claire smiled. She had done it for her athletic ex-boyfriend.

“Is that so?”

“I’m coming in, Mr. Specter.” Claire didn’t wait for his answer. She left the headset on the desk and flew into the office.

Ten minutes later, Mike was headed towards Harvey’s office, his eyes on the papers as he walked.

“Ah yeah… Right there… That’s it…”

Mike stopped dead in his tracks. ‘Is that Harvey’s voice?’

His eyes snapped up and took in the sight in front of him. Harvey had his jacket off and eyes closed, letting Claire work on his shoulders.

“Oh yeah… Just like that… This is good…”

 _Gulp._

Mike felt his face turn red as he watched Harvey moan. He knew that it was just a shoulder massage but Harvey sounded and looked so hot.

‘Damn. Why does he have his shirt on? Wouldn’t the massage work better without the shirt? He had nice abs, I remember.’

Then he jumped with shock at his own thoughts. Suddenly his brain was overloaded with mental images of the calendar photo shoots and the suspicious pictures at Donna’s place. Because of his eidetic memory, Mike remembered exactly how Harvey’s hand felt on his bare shoulder and how his breath had ghosted over his ear.

‘Oh god, what is wrong with me? I work with him! He’s my boss!’

“Mike? Why are you standing out there with your mouth open?”

Mike came back to reality as Harvey and Claire started at him. Apparently the massage was over and Claire was leaving with several files in her hands.

“Uh, I was just waiting for you to be coherent.” Mike answered as he walked into the office.

Harvey was going to defend himself, saying that Claire was an expert in shoulders when he noticed that Mike looked a little weird.

“Why do you look flushed, Mike? You’re feeling all right?” He already had a secretary absent. He couldn’t afford to have his associate sick too.

“What? Sure! Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. Your face is all red and you’re not looking me in the eye. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Harvey. Nothing’s going on.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m absolutely sure so quit asking. Now give me new work already so I can get out of your hair.” Mike held out his hand, staring at the edge of Harvey’s desk.

Harvey watched his associate, trying to figure out what was going on with him.

“Harvey, please.”

It was the second time of the day that someone begged him for work.

‘It surely is a tough economy.’ He thought as he handed over a couple of files.

Mike ran out of the office as if Harvey had handed him the baton. ‘This is all Donna’s fault! I was perfectly fine before I found those stupid mugs!’

He sank into his chair and dropped his head in his hands. ‘Is my mind playing tricks on me? Will this feeling go away in a couple of days? Or am I a tiny bit attracted to Harvey? He’s Harvey! Who isn’t attracted to him? So it’s normal to find him a little bit more attractive than usual after working so closely with him, right? By the way, what were those throaty moans? Oh god… let’s not think about his moans!’

Mike buried himself in work, desperately trying to think about anything but Harvey.


	7. Jessica's birthday party

Two days later, everything seemed to be back to normal at Pearson-Hardman. Donna had come back to work and Mike had almost forgotten about his weird feelings, having been so busy with the extra work from Louis.

“Hey, check this out, Mike!”

Mike recognized Harold’s voice as he was washing his hands in the men’s room. “Huh? Check out what?”

“I finally got that tattoo!” Harold beamed. “Let me show you.”

Mike dried his hands under the hand dryer as he watched Harold take off his tie and shirt.

“How do you like it?”

Mike blinked at the huge ‘H&M’ tattooed on his colleague’s back. “Wow, it’s huge and… impressive.” He assumed that Harold was expecting a compliment.

“I know! Awesome, right? I cried when I was getting it, but it was so worth all that pain!” Harold put on his shirt with a happy face.

“Well, I’m glad you like it so much. But are you sure you’re working for the right firm? You obviously love H&M.”

Harold looked offended. “How can you say something like that? I’m born for Pearson-Hardman and I will die with Pearson-Hardman!”

Mike was taken aback at the passionate reaction. “Sorry, Harold. I didn’t mean to question your loyalty. I’m sure Jessica appreciates it.”

“Ah, did you read the memo about her birthday party? I can’t wait! We’re going to have so much fun, Mike!” Harold said with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, it seems like a lot of fun.” Mike wasn’t sure why Harold was eyeing him like that but he never really understood what went on inside Harold’s head anyway.

*****

Meanwhile, Donna was at the IT department, standing next to Benjamin’s desk.

“Twelve? That’s all you could get me? Really?” Donna frowned at the number of H&M bags in her hands.

“I’m sorry! But Candice said that she’d be able to get more next week.” Benjamin explained in a hurry.

“I would hope so. For your own sake.”

“Please don’t tell her how I screwed up Jessica’s computer this spring. She thinks I’m the best IT guy out there. She’s actually proud of me!”

“If you get me more bags next week, that won’t happen.” Donna reassured him as she put the bags in a big shopping bag. She had introduced the nerd to a lovely girl who worked at the nearest H&M store so that she could tap into the unlimited supply of those bags.

However, Benjamin knew that she hadn’t hooked him up just because of the bags; it was her way of saying thank you for all the things that he had done for the Marvey fan club, which reminded him…

“Did you talk to Norma about my application?” He asked with hopeful eyes.

“Yes, that’s the first thing I did this morning. You’re in. No need for tests. Welcome to the prestigious club.” Donna smiled and offered her hand.

“Oh, thanks! That’s great!” He shook her hand eagerly. Thanks to the red-haired woman, he now had constant opportunities to show off his nerdy IT skills, had a lovely girlfriend, and was now a member of a cool club. Life was good.

As Donna walked back to her area, she spotted Harvey standing outside the office with a large bouquet of flowers. Pink lilies were her favorite.

“Harvey! Are those for me? You shouldn’t have!” Her face broke into a wonderful smile.

“Welcome back, Donna. Feeling better?” Harvey handed her the bouquet and earned a lipstick mark on his left cheek.

“Yes, and this is my first assignment.” Donna rested the bouquet on her desk and gave him an envelope.

“What’s this?”

“It’s an invitation to Jessica’s birthday party.”

“It’s her birthday again?”

Donna laughed. “Her birthday comes up once a year just like any other person, Harvey.”

“Are you sure it’s been a year already? She’s ageing quickly!”

“I don’t have to tell you she expects you to be there. It’s going to be held at her place.”

Harvey contemplated. “If I seem to say yes easily, it’s not because I’m thrilled to go to her party. It’s because I don’t want to stress you out on your first day back.”

“How very thoughtful of you.” Donna snorted but gladly informed Jessica’s secretary that Harvey would be available.

*****

 **Step 6: First kiss** (Project ‘Power magnet’)

“Whoa…” Mike was too busy looking around that he didn’t notice that Harvey had stopped in front of him.

“Watch it, puppy.” Harvey said as he felt Mike bump into his back.

“Sorry. It’s just that... this place is amazing!” Mike had never been inside a mansion like this.

“Yeah, this is the place of a managing partner of one of the most successful law firms.”

“This place kinda makes yours unimpressive, Harvey.” Mike joked.

“Well, I don’t see a glass elevator here, do you?”

“Haha, don’t worry. I like your place better than hers. More manly.” Mike smiled and pulled out Jessica’s birthday gift from his messenger bag.

“Do you want me to take yours too? I see there’s a gift table over there.” He offered.

“My presence is my gift, Mike. But you go ahead.”

“You’re sure you don’t want me to go out and get something in your place? I saw Louis ordered a truck to deliver his gift.”

“And, that information is relevant to me how?”

Mike shrugged. “I just wanted to help you prevent an awful situation in which Jessica prefers him over you.”

“That’s not gonna happen. Now go put your gift and play with the other kids. And, try not to embarrass me. There are clients here too.”

“When do I ever embarrass you?” Mike grinned. “If you ever want to show me off to a client, feel free to call me.”

Harvey shook his head in disbelief as Mike left with a wink.

*****

Everyone was having a good time at the party. There were enough food, drinks, and entertainment to suit various tastes. Many associates were playing pool or video games and some ladies were gathered around Jessica’s vase collection or art collection. Even Harvey was enjoying himself, talking to some of the clients on the couch with a drink in his hand.

“Having fun, Harvey?” Donna smiled and Harvey got a feeling that things weren’t going to be fun anymore.

“Until you smiled that demonic smile of yours, yeah.”

“Relax. You’ll have even more fun now. Jessica has suggested that we play some games.” Donna pointed at the small stage where Jessica had just walked up.

“Games? Why would I want to play games? Isn’t that what associates are for? Let Mike play.”

“Oh, Mike will play too.” Donna grinned.

Harvey groaned as Jessica grabbed the microphone. She thanked everyone for making her birthday party a wonderful memory and announced that they would have some game time. People seemed to be excited which made Harvey shake his head.

“Okay, thanks to Norma’s help, we’ve got two hats here. One has all of your names in it, and the other one has the names of several games. I hope you’ll enjoy the games we’ve prepared for you.” Jessica smiled and proceeded to pull out names and games.

“What is that? A sorting hat from Harry Potter?’ Harvey grumbled.

“Shh, Jessica just pulled out my name.” Donna paid attention to the stage.

“And, for Donna…” Jessica pulled out a folded paper from the second hat. “We have ‘spin the bottle’!”

“Oh, it looks like I’m going to kiss some souls.” Donna giggled. She couldn’t hide the excitement that was building up in her. Harvey had no idea what was coming for him.

“Now let’s see what we have for Harvey.”

Harvey heard his name after a couple of minutes. “Anything but ‘spin the bottle’. That’s so juvenile.”

“And, we have a winner! Spin the bottle!” Jessica’s smile lit up the stage.

“That’s great, Harvey! We’re in the same game!” Donna put an arm around his neck.

Harvey snapped. “Why would I want to play ‘spin the bottle’ with you? If I wanted to kiss you, I could’ve done it years ago.”

“Who said I’d let you?”

“What? You don’t like me?” Harvey pretended to look hurt. He was too busy exchanging banters with Donna that he didn’t hear which game his associate had got.

*****

“I’m not playing your stupid game, Jessica.” Harvey announced as he spotted Mike in one corner of the living room. That was where the group of ‘spin the bottle’ was supposed to sit. “Especially when it’s something like ‘spin the bottle’. It’s a game for puppies, I see. And, you and I both know that I’m not a puppy.”

“Harvey, you’re under my roof and it’s my birthday, so you play by my rules.” Jessica put on her lawyer voice.

“I’m sure I can be an exception. They have enough people for the game.” Harvey put on his charming smile.

“Save that smile for the game, Harvey. We don’t need to have another conversation about your full cooperation, do we? So off you go.” Jessica sent Harvey away and texted Norma: _Get ready. It’s show time._

Meanwhile, Mike was freaking out as he stared at the people around him. ‘Okay, let’s calm down. There are ten people in this group and there’s only one Harvey. There’s a very low chance that I’ll have to kiss him. And, well, I don’t mind kissing the other girls and boys. They look all right. No Kyle or Seth.’

He ventured a glance at Harvey who was sitting next to Donna on the other side of the bottle. He looked like he was in a bad mood.

‘He probably thinks this game is stupid, and I have to say I can’t totally disagree. But what Jessica wants, Jessica gets. He should’ve learned that by now.’

Mike took a deep breath as Donna suggested that they start playing.

“Can I go first?” Rachel asked and spun the metallic bottle. The bottle spun and spun until it pointed at Mike.

Mike smiled. “Come here, Rachel.”

As Rachel got up and walked over to Mike, Harvey felt like throwing the heavy bottle at one of Jessica’s vases. “This game is so stupid. Where did she even get this idea?”

“I’ve got your message loud and clear, Harvey. Just bear with it. It’ll be over soon.” Donna patted him on the back.

Feeling Harvey’s annoyed stare on her back, Rachel pulled away from Mike in a hurry. “Since you’ve been kissed, it’s your turn, Mike.”

“Oh, okay.”

Mike spun the bottle, hoping that fate would be kind to him. ‘Please… anyone but Harvey!’

Mike crossed his fingers and wished upon a star. The bottle started to spin, making his mouth go dry. Then it slowed down, making everyone stare at it.

‘Please!! I’ve been a good boy! I deserve some good luck!’

He pushed the pink heart out of his mind as he watched the bottle. It was going to stop at any moment now.

‘Please!!’ He squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t bear to face his fate.

“Ooh, and the lucky winner is… Harvey!” Donna announced cheerfully and the fan club members in the group clapped happily.

“What?!” Mike’s eyes shot open. He looked at the bottle, then at Harvey. “But he’s my boss!”

“So what?” Donna asked innocently.

“I can’t kiss my boss! That’s unethical! Pearson-Hardman has a strict anti-fraternization policy between employees of different ranks!”

“But Jessica wanted us to play games. Are you going to be a bad puppy and disobey her when it’s her birthday? Really?” Donna frowned.

Mike’s face fell as he searched the room to spot the managing partner. She was looking his way with a glass of wine in her hand.

“You already failed her at mock trial. You want to do that again?” Donna knew exactly which buttons to push.

Mike looked at Harvey who suddenly looked highly amused. He recognized that look from when Harvey had ladies’ hands all over his chest.

‘Oh god… Why do I keep thinking about his chest?’

“Well, I’m waiting here, puppy. Come and kiss me already.” Harvey wondered if he loved teasing his associate a little too much.

Mike swallowed all kinds of emotions as he stood up and started walking towards Harvey.

‘Why is this happening to me? Is it because I cheated on those exams?’

Mike couldn’t think anymore as his heart pounded in his ears. Jessica’s eyes were on him, and he had to show her that he could be courageous when he needed to.

“I’m sorry, Harvey.”

He had no idea why he felt like apologizing as he bent down and pressed his lips against his boss’. He tried to remember the rules of ‘spin the bottle’ but his brain refused to work.

‘Can I stop now? Five seconds have passed, right? I think the rule was more than five seconds.’

Mike was about to pull back when Harvey grabbed his tie and opened his mouth. Mike’s tongue instinctively slid in and that’s when Mike realized with horror what he was doing.

“Oh gosh!”

He jumped back and rubbed his lips with the back of his hand. Harvey was staring at him with a dangerous smile, smacking his lips. Mike hurried back to his spot and put his jacket over his head. He wished that he could evaporate and save himself from the embarrassment.

“That wasn’t a kiss, Mike. It was more like… bumping lips.”

He heard Harvey’s voice but chose to ignore it and hid deeper under his jacket.

“Okay, you’re up, Harvey.” Donna offered him the bottle.

Mike could hear the bottle spin on the floor. He didn’t care whom Harvey had to kiss. He just hoped that it wouldn’t be him. One kiss was more than enough.

“And, the winner is… Mike!” Donna announced with delight.

“What?! No way!” Mike’s head shot out of the jacket to verify the result. The bottle was indeed pointed at him.

‘Why wouldn’t you give me a break?!’ He looked up at the ceiling with desperate eyes as if God was on Jessica’s ceiling.

“It looks like I get to return the favor.” Harvey grinned and walked towards his associate who couldn’t believe that this was happening for real.

“But you don’t have to return it! I’m good!” Mike squeaked.

“Rules are rules, Mike. We’ll have to play by them.”

Harvey gestured at Mike to stand up and Mike was grateful that his legs didn’t give out. He felt Harvey cup the back of his neck and pull him in for a kiss.

“Woohoo, way to go, Harvey!”

Mike heard a senior partner yell with joy. In no time, Harvey was roaming freely inside his mouth.

‘Oh Jesus… I’m just playing by the rules.’

Harvey’s tongue was demanding him to kiss back and there was only so much Mike could protest. So he put his hands on Harvey’s chest and kissed back shyly.

“Now _that_ was a kiss.” Harvey pulled back just when Mike got into the kiss.

Mike could only nod as his whole brain had shut down. As soon as Harvey released him, Mike sank to the floor, trying to get enough air in his lungs.

“Okay, game time is over. It’s time for cake!”

Mike had never been happier to hear Donna’s voice.

*****

 _Downstairs…_

“Oh thank god it’s over. My arms!” Gregory put down the giant magnet. He felt as if his arms were falling off.

“I told you I didn’t have enough muscles for this.” Harold whined. He loved that he contributed to Harvey and Mike’s first kiss, but he couldn’t feel his arms anymore.

“You’ve done great work, gentlemen. You’ve now earned the right to purchase limited Marvey items.” Norma informed them as she disconnected her laptop from hidden cameras.

The fan club had arrived earlier than the other guests to hide cameras all over the living room and to rehearse ‘spin the bottle’ for hours.

“What if Harvey finds one of the cameras? I’m terrified, Norma. I think I’ll fake a seizure if he ever finds the one hidden in the car.” Ray expressed his concern.

“Don’t worry. Jessica said she’d protect us, and we only have to be careful till they get married.”

“Well, they kissed just now! I’d say it would take a very long time till they get hitched!”

Norma shook her head at the skeptical attitude. Luckily for Ray, she understood that new members could experience hopelessness and fear.

“Do I have to tell you about my impressive matchmaking record again?”

Ray sighed and shook his head. “No, Norma. I’ll try to have more faith. I mean, I really like Harvey and I want to see him with someone good like Mike.”

“Very good then. Now we’ll go upstairs and enjoy our little victory. I bet some members are crying with joy.” She smiled warmly and guided the boys upstairs.


	8. The aftermath

Mike came straight home from the party, feeling exhausted. He kicked off his shoes near the door and threw his messenger bag on the couch as he headed to the bathroom.

‘I need a bath with my duckies.’

He let the water fill the bathtub and stripped off his clothes, desperately trying to forget about the kiss.

‘How could he look so unaffected? He was grinning like an idiot while stealing Donna’s cake. I know it was just a game, but am I the only one who felt something? He didn’t look at me even once after the game! How could he just move on like that?’

Mike stomped into the bathroom and took out two duckies (a lawyer duckie and a tennis playing duckie) from the cupboard.

‘Hey, this one looks a little like Harvey. Large tie and all.’ He eyed the lawyer duckie that his grandmother had bought him for his eighth birthday.

‘Ah, I should stop thinking about Harvey. I’m sure I’ll feel much better after a hot bath and a good night’s sleep.’

Mike checked the temperature of the water with his toes and slid into the bathtub. He let the duckies swim around and closed his eyes. He needed rest.

*****

On Monday morning, as he biked to work, Mike realized that he couldn’t feel Harvey on his lips anymore even though he still had a vivid memory of the kiss.

‘That’s a good thing, right? Then why do I feel weird?’

He shrugged as he got off his bike. On Friday night, he had dreamt of kissing Harvey in his office, on Saturday night inside the town car, and on Sunday night in his bathtub.

‘My subconsciousness is very consistent.’ Mike laughed as he walked into the Pearson-Hardman building.

“Good morning, Mike.” Miza greeted him in front of the elevator.

“Good morning, Miza.” Mike smiled at the librarian.

“Had a nice weekend?” The girl asked with a knowing smile.

Mike could feel himself blushing. “Uh, sure. Had a nice rest. You?”

“I had a fantastic weekend! A little bit of redecoration.” She grinned as she remembered plastering her bedroom walls with all sorts of Marvey pictures.

“Good for you.” Mike said as he stepped into the elevator with her.

“Oh, could you please tell Harvey that the book he ordered is ready?”

“He ordered a book?”

“Yes. Please let him know.” Miza asked him as she got off on her floor.

“Sure. Have a good day!”

Mike got off on the next floor and felt the security cameras immediately follow him around.

‘Our IT department is definitely competent. I’ll give them that. They must be using a face recognition software.’ He thought as he walked through the hallway.

‘Hmm, so Donna’s going to watch this, right? Perhaps some fan service will make me feel better.’

He started with a wink and drew a heart with his arms over his head. Then he loaded his finger gun with love and shot the camera.

‘Ehehe, she’s going to love it.’

Mike grinned as he hung his messenger bag on his chair and sat down. He had work to do.

*****

An hour later, Mike realized that no amount of smug fan service was going to save his day. His brain refused to focus on the papers and kept going back to reliving the kiss.

‘When I’m at work, I’m only going to think about work. It’s simple.’

Mike stood up with a file in his hand and headed towards Harvey’s office. But the closer he got to the office, the faster his heart seemed to beat.

‘Okay… perhaps I can just hand it to Donna. No need to give it to him directly, right?’

“Hey, Donna, could you let Harvey know I’m done with this file? Oh, and please tell him that Miza has his book ready. Thanks!”

Mike didn’t wait for an answer and ran back to his cubicle.

*****

The morning went by with Mike trying his best to focus on work and to avoid Harvey. Whatever work he finished, he left it on Donna’s desk and disappeared before Donna or Harvey could get his attention. He wanted to talk to Rachel about it over lunch but she said that she had to attend an important meeting that she couldn’t miss, so they had agreed to take a late afternoon coffee break instead.

‘I wonder if Harvey’s thinking about the kiss too. I mean, he couldn’t have kissed me that passionately just to show me what a real kiss was, could he?’ Mike thought as he bit the cap of his highlighter.

‘He has such perfect lips; not just for speaking in court but also for kissing. Where did he learn how to kiss like that anyway? Just many years of experience? Will I be able to have such skills one day?’

Mike tried to imitate how Harvey had moved his lips when he heard an amused voice. “What are you doing? Doing an impression of a fish?”

Mike’s head snapped up. Harvey was standing in front of his cubicle with his arms crossed.

“I was just exercising my lips. What do you need?” Mike smiled awkwardly.

“I need you in my office.”

“What for? Since you’ve walked all the way down here, can’t you just give me the orders here?” Mike noticed that he still couldn’t look at Harvey without thinking about the kiss.

“Be a good puppy and follow me, will you?”

Harvey started to walk away and Mike knew that he couldn’t disobey his boss for no good reason.

‘I’ll be in there only for a short time. I can handle this.’

Mike reluctantly left his cubicle and followed his boss when he realized that he was staring at his ass.

‘Oh my god, Mike Ross, get a grip, will you? Remember, those security cameras are watching your every move!’

Hoping that Donna would somehow miss it, Mike walked into the office.

“Go sit on the couch.” Harvey ordered as he saw that Mike was about to sit in a chair in front of the desk.

“What is this about?” Mike asked. He was uncomfortable being in the same room with his kissable boss. He saw Harvey bring two glasses of water and sit across him.

“Look at me.” Harvey demanded.

Mike lifted his gaze to Harvey’s face but he still couldn’t meet his eyes. His gaze got stuck where happened to be Harvey’s… lips.

“Look me in the eye, Mike.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“Yes, it is.”

Mike let out a sigh and carefully looked into Harvey’s eyes. His heart was beating way too fast for his liking.

“Is everything all right?” Harvey’s voice was soft.

“I think it depends on what you’re asking about.” Mike really wanted to look somewhere else.

“I think we both know what I’m asking about.” Harvey said patiently.

Mike looked at Harvey who seemed to be very serious. There wasn’t an ounce of amusement on his face. “In that case, do you want me to be brave or honest?”

“I want you to be honest for this one.” Harvey took a sip of his water.

Mike nodded. He thought that it was only fair that Harvey knew what he was going through. It was his fault after all.

“Everything isn’t all right, Harvey. You probably noticed that I can’t even look you in the eye.” He stated the obvious.

“Tell me something I don’t know, Mike. Were you just embarrassed or was there something else?”

“What do you mean?”

“During the kiss, Mike. What did you feel?”

Mike’s jaw dropped. “That’s personal! How could you ask something like that? I plead the fifth.”

“Mike, I’m not asking because I want to tease you or pry into your feelings. I just need to know since it’s interfering with your work.”

“What? I made a mistake?” Mike was horrified.

“No. You just drew hearts on the papers. Lots of them, actually.”

“Is this some kind of a joke?” Mike barked. Surely, Harvey couldn’t be serious.

“See for yourself. I’m not the one who owns a yellow highlighter.” Harvey grabbed some papers from his desk and handed them over to Mike.

Mike gasped as he saw hearts of various shapes and sizes. “Harvey, I’m so sorry! I’ll make new photocopies and highlight the important parts again. I’m sorry.”

Harvey smiled. “It’s fine. Donna already took care of it. You were clearly distracted by my great kissing skills.”

Mike glared at the playful tone. “I thought you didn’t want to tease me.”

“I changed my mind. You can be very persuasive.”

Mike glared harder. “I was just taken aback when you kissed me, that’s all. Your kiss wasn’t really that great.”

“What did you just say?” Harvey’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“I said your kiss wasn’t really that great.” Mike lied and actually felt good about it. If he had to suffer from the kiss, Harvey should suffer from it too.

“You did not just say that.” Harvey stood up.

“I think I just did.”

“You did not.”

“I really think I did.”

Mike felt his breath get stuck in the airway as he saw Harvey walk around the coffee table and sit right next to him.

“I’ll show you what I’m capable of. After this kiss, you will not be satisfied with any other kisses.”

Mike’s eyes grew wide as Harvey grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss. ‘Oh geez, why do I keep finding myself in these kinds of situations?’

This time, Mike instinctively kissed back with urgency, his hands firmly around Harvey’s neck. It was both thrilling and soothing to have Harvey on his lips again. He didn’t care if Donna’s eyes had widened just before he closed his own. Harvey was sucking everything out of him and all he could do was let out an embarrassing moan.

“Harvey, please… I can’t…”

Mike had to pull back, overwhelmed with the intensity of the kiss. His brain felt fried and his body was shuddering with pleasure.

“You’re torturing me, Harvey... You’re not supposed to torture your associate.” Mike whined as he tried to catch his breath.

“Oh, you think _I_ ’m torturing you? Who was the one that bruised my ego in the first place? Nobody has ever questioned my kissing skills. Ever.”

Mike closed his mouth and rather focused on calming himself down.

“So what do you think now? You finally admit I’m a great kisser?”

“Why is that so important to you?”

“Answer me, Mike. Did you think the kiss was great or not?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“You can’t plead the fifth after insulting me! And, if you don’t answer right now, I’m going to have to kiss you again. Because it obviously means that you need help to move your tongue properly.”

“Jesus, Harvey… That’s just…”

Mike felt himself develop a situation down there and bolted from the couch. “Fine! You win! Your kiss was amazing! Happy now?”

Harvey watched as Mike ran out of the office with a file in front of him. A part of him wished that Mike would’ve stood up longer to him and another part wished that he would be able to forget about the kiss.

‘I knew he was going to stomp all over my life, didn’t I? That’s what puppies do. So why can’t I deal with this?’

Harvey sighed as he finished his glass of water. It was with great surprise that he realized that the water tasted better with Mike’s taste lingering in his mouth.

*****

Harvey was headed down to the library as he rubbed his face in annoyance. Mike had been avoiding him for hours ever since he had been kissed. When he had walked over to his cubicle to check on him, one of the associates had told him that Mike was working in one of the empty conference rooms and Harvey knew that he needed some time alone.

‘It all started with that stupid game. I told Jessica that game was stupid! What joy can possibly come out of seeing two of her employees make out in front of her? She thought that it would be a nice bonding experience?’

Harvey opened the door to the library and was greeted with a smile. “Good afternoon, Harvey. Long time no see.”

“Hey, Miza. Good to see you.” He smiled back at the librarian who had helped him out ever since he had worked for the firm.

“I assume you came for the book you ordered?”

Harvey nodded.

“I thought your associate would be picking it up.”

“I figured I’d pick it up myself. Say hi to you and all.”

“Yeah, right.” The woman snorted.

“What was that about?” Harvey took the book from her hands.

“It means that I know you’re here because Mike wouldn’t come instead.”

Harvey was surprised. “How did you know that?”

“Oh, Harvey, you underestimate me.” She smiled, thanking Donna for having updated her on the current Marvey status.

Harvey smiled apologetically and turned towards the door when he got an idea. “Hey, do you have a minute?”

“For you? Always. What is it?”

Harvey hesitated a little before leaning against the desk. “Well, you know how I don’t like having emotions, right?”

“Yes, you only like to use them to win.”

“Exactly.”

“But you’re having emotions these days.”

“Nice deduction.”

Miza smiled and offered Harvey a seat next to her desk. She took a deep breath and hoped that she wouldn’t screw up. She knew that if she didn’t say the right thing, the club members would throw her out to the vast and cold space.

“So tell me. You’re not sure what to do with those emotions?”

“No, I already know what to do. I need to suppress them. They’re just a liability. But I’m having trouble doing that.”

“I don’t know, Harvey. Some say we get strength from those emotions.”

“That sounds like something Mike would say.” Harvey thought about his associate.

“Well, if suppressing isn’t working, perhaps it’s time for a different approach.”

“You’re saying I should act on them? You think that’ll work any better?”

The librarian shrugged. “You won’t know unless you try. Just let it play out. You have good instincts. Trust them. Do what feels right.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks anyway.”

Harvey stood up and Miza gave him a copy of the company’s bylaws. “Since you’re a senior partner, I should inform you that there has been an update on several sections. I think page 32 will get your attention.”

“Thanks, Miza.” Harvey left the library and flipped to page 32: the anti-fraternization policy.

‘Wow, Jessica really wants some real life soap opera, doesn’t she? This basically says partners are now allowed to fraternize with associates.’ He shook his head and went up to his floor when he heard someone laugh.

“Ahahaha, that’s hilarious, Mr. Luthor!”

Harvey recognized the voice coming from the associates’ break room. ‘Luthor? What’s a senior partner doing in there with my associate?’

He decided to crash the party and slammed the door open. “Mike, get back to work. Break’s over.”

Mike shot out of his chair and nodded, walking past Harvey. Their shoulders touched and their eyes met for a confusing second.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Miss Pearson would like to see you in her office. Both of you.” Jessica’s secretary informed them, and Mike looked at Harvey, wondering if she had seen them kissing in the office.

“We’ll be fine. It must be something else. Let’s go hear what she has to say.”

Mike felt Harvey’s guiding hand on his back incredibly soothing. He wanted to lean back to the touch but he knew that he had to behave.

*****

“Good afternoon, boys. Please take a seat.” Jessica offered them a seat on the couch as she sat across them.

“You seem to be in a good mood. Got some belated birthday gifts?” Harvey sat closer to Mike than usual. They were in the tigress’s den; it was his job to look out for his puppy.

“Well, I was thinking that I could give myself one by borrowing your associate.” Jessica smiled, dying to see Harvey’s reaction.

“That’s a very bad idea.” Harvey put a protective hand on Mike’s forearm, trying to think of what mistake he had made to let Jessica think that it would be all right to borrow Mike.

“Only for a week, Harvey. And, no, I’m not punishing you. I just need his brilliant mind for my current case.” She just wanted to get to know the kid but she couldn’t tell Harvey the truth.

“I’m sorry but he’s not available. I suggest you use two or three other associates instead.”

Mike could feel that Harvey’s grip was getting tighter. He wondered if this was what a child felt like during the divorce of his parents.

“Harvey, I’m not trying to take him away.” She had to laugh at Harvey’s glare. She was glad that Donna had reminded her after the party that the time had come to update the bylaws.

“I’ll help her, Harvey.” Mike whispered.

“You stay quiet and let me handle this.” Harvey whispered back.

“But I don’t want you to argue with her because of me. Plus, it’s only one week.”

“Only one week? She will suffocate you in less than 48 hours, Mike.”

Jessica watched the boys whisper to each other in front of her. She was highly amused. ‘What do they think I am? Deaf? And really, I’m going to suffocate him?’

“Harvey, let’s make this easy on both of us. Let me borrow him and you’ll get him back in perfect condition.”

“I refuse to lend him on the grounds that I don’t want to.”

“Miss Pearson, I’ll help you for a week.” Mike stepped up, ignoring Harvey’s iron-tight grip on the arm. This would give him a good excuse to stay away from Harvey and to stop thinking about him.

“Mike…”

“Please let me do this, Harvey.” Mike looked into Harvey’s eyes. He saw worry, annoyance, and disappointment. He wished that he could caress all the negative emotions away.

‘Such drama queens. One would think that I’m taking Mike somewhere far far away for months!’ Jessica clicked her mental tongue.

“Exactly how long is one week? Full seven days or do I get him back by Friday 6pm?” Harvey asked, tearing his eyes off Mike. If Mike wanted some time away from him, he would have to respect his wishes.

Jessica laughed. “You can get him back by Friday 10am, okay? So cut the drama and get back to work. And, Mr. Ross, you can gather your things and come work in my office.”

“Excuse me?” Mike turned visibly pale.

“Jessica, if you think Mike has done something wrong…”

“Relax, Harvey, will you? Mr. Ross is one of the rising stars in our firm. I merely want to observe his potential as closely as I can.”

Harvey could feel Mike shudder next to him. So he whispered, “Just hang in there for the rest of the day, all right? I’ll try to make a deal and get you out of this. And, if you really can’t take it anymore, text me and I’ll come get you, okay?”

Mike nodded, feeling grateful even though he had agreed to this in the first place. Well, for what it’s worth, that was before he knew that he had to work in the managing partner’s office.

‘Ah, I’ve never felt more like a tigress.’ Jessica laughed some more as Harvey reluctantly stood up and left the office, leaving his precious puppy in her hands.  



	9. Romeo and Juliet

**Step 7: Endless longing** (Project ‘Romeo and Juliet’)

‘Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.’

Mike felt like confessing all his sins as he let out a silent sigh. He was sitting across Jessica on her couch, trying to find a loophole for the managing partner. Unlike Jessica who was sitting comfortably with her legs crossed, he was sitting as straight as humanly possible.

‘Ouch, my neck. My back hurts too. I also have to pee again.’

Despite the humidifier in the office, his throat kept getting dry so he had absorbed water like a baby whale. He was lucky that he didn’t have to go out to the hallway because Jessica had her own water purifier.

“Feel free to stretch and use the bathroom, Mr. Ross. I’m aware that I’m not working with a robot.” Jessica said without taking her eyes off the papers.

“Yes, Miss Pearson.” Mike answered quietly and left the office with his phone.

He had been working with Jessica for only two hours but he already missed Harvey. He couldn’t figure out the reason though. Jessica had praised him every time he had found something useful and she had given him orange and pink highlighters.

‘Great. Now I automatically associate the color pink with pink hearts from Donna’s mug. And, naturally, pink hearts remind me of all those kisses with Harvey.’

He shook his head as he walked towards the men’s room. He had wanted to work for Jessica precisely to stop thinking about Harvey.

“Hey, Mike.” Harold was glad that Mike had finally graced the men’s room with his presence. He had waited in front of the mirror for twenty minutes.

“Hey, Harold.”

“I hear you work with Jessica for the week.”

“Yeah. I’m honored and terrified at the same time.”

Mike was about to walk past his coworker when Harold held out his hand. “I’ll keep your phone for you in case it slips out of your pocket.”

Mike thought about refusing politely but he knew better than anyone how clumsy he was. So he left his phone in good hands and went about his business. “Thanks, Harold.”

*****

Meanwhile, Donna had to bite back a laugh at how nervous her boss looked in his office. Ever since he had left Jessica’s office, Harvey had been pacing around like a man who had lost his puppy and was waiting for it to come back home. Well, to be fair, he had talked to two clients on the phone and had a short meeting in the conference room, but whenever he had free time, she could tell that he was thinking about his associate.

“You’re worried sick.” She stated the obvious through the intercom.

“He’s with Jessica.” Harvey didn’t bother to deny her accusation.

“He’ll be fine, Harvey. Don’t you have work to do?” Donna couldn’t stop herself from laughing this time.

“Don’t _you_ have work to do?”

“My top priority is to keep an eye on you. So why don’t you take a seat and try to relax? You told him to text you if he couldn’t take it anymore.” She reminded him.

Harvey shot her a curious glare. “How do you know that?”

“Jessica’s secretary knows how to read lips too. I taught her.” Donna explained.

Harvey nodded and looked down at his watch. It had been two hours since he had left the puppy in the tigress’ den. It was about time that the puppy texted him, but he was quite proud of Mike for hanging tough with one of the most brutal lawyers in the city.

‘Wait. Maybe my phone doesn’t work properly.’

“Donna, can you text something to my phone?”

Donna had to giggle at this one. “Oh, Harvey, you’re so adorable. Do you want me to post flyers on the walls? Let people know we have a missing puppy and we’ll pay the one who manages to get him back safely?”

“Donna, text me right now.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Don’t say that. That’s Mike’s line.”

“Aww…”

Ignoring Harvey’s death glare, she picked up her cell phone and texted her boss. Obviously, the text message was sent successfully and she could hear Harvey’s phone bleep in a second.

“Damn it.” Harvey muttered under his breath and thought about cutting a deal.

‘Taking two more pro bono cases per month for the rest of the year. How would she like that?’ He pondered. ‘Nah, she’ll point out that I’ll just hand them over to Mike. Even if I tell her I’ll deal with them myself, she’s not going to believe me. Then what else can I offer? It’s not like I can use something against her. I’m never going to do that.’

“Harvey, don’t try to blackmail her. It’s only going to backfire.”

Donna could tell what was going on inside Harvey’s head. ‘All the things men would do for love.’

“I know. But I can’t just leave him in there. He’s already skinny enough. You think he’ll be able to digest anything in front of her?”

“You think she’ll want to eat with him too?” Donna asked innocently as if she didn’t know about Jessica’s plan.

“I _know_ she’ll want to.” Harvey groaned at the thought of Mike turning pale with indigestion.

“Well, you can worry about that tomorrow. I don’t think she’ll have dinner with him in the office, do you?”

“No. But she’s going to offer him some kind of a snack.” Harvey wished that he didn’t know the woman so well. “Can you text Mike? See if he’s doing all right?”

Donna smiled happily and used her sweetest voice. “Harvey, I think he’ll get more comfort if you text him yourself.”

“Fine.” Harvey sighed and grabbed his cell phone.

 _Hey, puppy. How are you holding up? If she makes you do something you don’t want to, tell her I told you not to do it. Come see me before you head home._

Harvey sent the text message, not knowing that Harold was going to get it instead.

*****

“How do you like it, Mr. Ross?” Jessica asked as she speared a slice of apple with her fork. She always liked to have some fruit as a late afternoon snack.

“It tastes great, Miss Pearson. And please call me Mike.”

Mike squirmed as he ate another slice of apple. He had offered to peel the apples but she had been adamant that she was very good with a knife. The information had made him shudder and he wanted to call Harvey, but he remembered that he had never got his phone back from Harold.

“I’m obviously not going to hurt you, Mike.” Jessica laughed.

‘Where did Harvey find a puppy like this?’ Her firm was supposed to raise little animals into fierce lions and tigers. The big blue eyes clearly weren’t helping, but she could see how they would be useful if Mike had to persuade the jury.

“I just want to know you better. It’s not every day that someone gets Harvey’s full attention.” She came clean. She didn’t want to risk one of her best associates suffering a heart attack.

Mike smiled a little. “I’m flattered but I don’t think I have his full attention.”

“He kissed you, Mike. I think that’s enough proof.”

“But we were playing a game.” They had kissed earlier in Harvey’s office too but he wasn’t going to mention that.

“If you think Harvey’s the type of person that kisses someone just because he’s playing a game, you don’t know him very well. He’s the type to change the rules of the game.”

Mike smiled and thought about what Harvey had said before kissing him in the office. ‘After this kiss, you will not be satisfied with any other kisses.’

Jessica studied the kid’s face which had suddenly turned pink. Thanks to the couple of hours that she had spent with him, she had learned many things about him. She could tell that he had a brilliant mind which was also open to suggestions and criticism, and he seemed to be a well-raised, polite boy. She hadn’t had a chance to catch his witty, joking side yet but Donna had told her that Mike could actually make her laugh.

“Do you miss working with Harvey?” She asked as she watched the kid drink yet another glass of water.

The answer was written all over the kid’s face but she waited patiently.

“I’ll be working with him again next week, so it’s okay. I’m happy to be helpful here whomever I work for.” Mike answered politely.

Jessica liked the answer and decided that she should have dinner sometime in the week with both Harvey and his associate.

*****

Mike was headed towards the associates’ area to get his phone back from Harold when a woman came out of nowhere.

“Mike!”

“Jesus, Irene…! You scared the hell out of me.” Mike had to calm his pounding heart.

“Sorry! I just wanted to say hi and catch up with you. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Mike laughed. “You saw me on Friday evening at Jessica’s birthday party, remember?”

The paralegal was a good friend of Rachel’s and helped him out whenever Rachel couldn’t.

“Well, two days is a long time! So how have you been ever since you kissed Mr. Specter?” Irene had a hint of maliciousness in her eyes.

“Oh god, please don’t ask me about that. It’s embarrassing.”

Mike tried to walk and talk at the same time but the woman blocked his way. She wondered if Harold had got enough time to hide with Mike’s phone.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“Nothing. I just wanted to take a good look at your cute face.” She smiled.

“Oh, you always flatter me way too much.” Mike laughed good-heartedly and Irene had to clear his way. Mike’s smile was too much for her to handle up close.

“Has anybody seen Harold?” Mike asked when he noticed that neither Harold nor his phone was in his cubicle.

“I think he went out to run some errands for Louis.” Gregory said even though he knew that Harold was hiding under his own desk.

“Really? Then I’ll have to come back later. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Gregory flashed him a warm smile and waited for Mike to leave the area before faking a cough to let Harold know that the coast was clear.

Mike was aware that he had to go straight back to Jessica’s office but he found himself walking towards the direction of Harvey’s office.

‘I’ll just say hi quickly and tell him that I’m doing well.’

He walked faster and in a few seconds, he could see Harvey’s office. But much to his disappointment, the office was empty.

“What are you doing here, Mike?” Donna asked.

“Where’s Harvey?”

“Aww, you miss him already?”

“No, I don’t. He’s still my boss so I have to report to him on my work, that’s all.”

“Well, he’s in a meeting with other partners. I’ll let him know that Juliet misses him.” Donna grinned.

Mike didn’t bother to correct her that he didn’t miss Harvey and that he definitely wasn’t Juliet. He checked his watch and headed back to Jessica’s office. He didn’t want to give the managing partner the impression that he was slacking off.

*****

“Did Mike swing by the office while I was gone?” was the first thing that Harvey asked as Donna came into view.

“Nope.” She lied. It was for her boss’ own good.

“That’s weird. He still hasn’t texted me back either.” Harvey rubbed his chin, checking his phone again. “Can you go check on him?”

Harvey normally wouldn’t worry this much but Mike had been having an emotionally difficult day with all the kissing business. He wanted Jessica to see the best of him and would hate to hear from her that he hadn’t chosen the right one as his associate.

“Harvey, I’d love to, but as you can see, I’m piled up with work. Why don’t you go see him yourself?” She suggested.

“If I do that, Jessica will think that I don’t trust her enough with Mike.”

“You don’t.”

“That’s true but I don’t want her to know that.”

“I think she already knows, Harvey. I heard you were extremely reluctant to leave Mike with her in the first place.”

Harvey sighed. Donna was right. He checked his watch and realized that it was almost six. He had texted the kid to come see him before heading home, so if Mike had got the message, he would drop by soon enough.

‘ _If_ he’s got the message.’ Harvey knew how clumsy Mike could be with his phone.

He frowned and decided to just go see Mike himself. It had been a tiring day for him as well and he didn’t have enough energy or patience left to keep waiting.

*****

Meanwhile, Mike was almost done with his share of work. He had attempted to locate Harold again an hour ago but apparently his colleague still hadn’t come back.

“Do you have any plans after work tonight?” Jessica asked as she gathered up her things.

“No, Miss Pearson.” Mike wanted to tell her that as a first-year associate, it was almost impossible to make plans ahead but he didn’t want to sound like an ungrateful employee.

“Good. Then what do you say about getting dinner with Harvey and me?”

“Harvey?”

Jessica laughed at the kid brightening up at his mentor’s name. He definitely had an adorable side.

“Well, speak of the devil…” She pointed at the familiar face that was lurking around outside her office.

Mike turned his head and saw Harvey standing in the corner of the hallway.

“Get in here, Harvey. We were just talking about you.” Jessica motioned him into her office and Harvey walked in with such elegance that it was difficult to tell if he was the same person who had been lurking around a moment ago.

“Came to check on your puppy?” God, sometimes she thought that she only came to work to tease Harvey.

“Nah, I’m just curious where he left his phone this time.” Harvey sat on the couch next to his associate and Mike explained how Harold still had his phone.

“Who’s Harold?”

“The one who occupies the cubicle next to mine.”

“Oh, the one with dark hair?”

“No, he’s blond. Seriously, Harvey…” Mike couldn’t believe that after all those visits to his cubicle, Harvey still didn’t know who sat right next to him.

“What? Associates are dead people to me. I don’t need to know a thing about them.”

“I’m an associate too.”

“Well, you’re _my_ associate so I have no other choice but to know your name, _Jake_.” Harvey earned a small slap on his thigh for that.

Jessica watched the two talk to each other with ease. Donna had told her earlier that there was tension between the two, but apparently the few hours that they had spent apart had taken care of it.

“Boys, how about we continue this conversation with some food in front of us?”

“Are you buying?” Harvey asked.

“No, you’re paying for your own food.” Jessica joked.

“So you’re buying. Great! Get your stuff, Mike.”

While Mike excused himself to hunt down Harold one last time, Jessica leaned against her desk and looked at Harvey who was still on the couch.

“What is it? Just say it.” Harvey could tell that she had something on her mind.

“Keep him.” Her words were simple.

“Mike? Well, yes, I clearly don’t plan to look for a new associate any time soon.”

“You know what I mean, Harvey. He’s a keeper and he’s good for you.”

“Is that why you revised the bylaws?” Harvey had smelled something fishy a few weeks ago and during the past few days, it had been extremely difficult to not smell it.

“I revised them so that everyone in this firm would get an opportunity at a well-deserved life of happiness without unnecessary rules blocking his way.”

“Jessica, happiness only exists in children’s book. Didn’t you learn anything from your failed marriage?”

Jessica was sadly surprised at Harvey’s words. He sounded so certain that he was right. She admitted that she had experienced an unhappy marriage but she was determined to make Harvey take a different path. “I’ll prove you wrong. Just wait and see.”

Harvey was going to say something back but Mike had come back with his phone in his hand.

“I’m ready to leave now.” Mike told them with a smiling face and Harvey never got a chance to argue his point further.  



	10. Jealousy is the best policy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today we have a special guest from 'Smallville', Lex Luthor =D (He's nice in here because he values his life and Marvey.)

  
**Step 8: Jealousy is the best policy** (Project ‘Green-eyed monster’)

Harvey and Mike spent Tuesday pretty much the same way as Monday, trying to find a way to check on each other. But without Mike, Harvey had been incredibly busy and even had to do some of the legwork on his own. Mike only had a few chances to get out of Jessica’s office but every time he attempted to go see Harvey, someone walked up to him and chatted his time away, leaving him with no other choice than to go back to the managing partner. He eventually managed to swing by Harvey’s office before heading home but Harvey had already left.

So on Wednesday morning, it was no surprise to Donna that Harvey looked a little lonely in his large office. It was the perfect time to execute their next plan.

 _The time has come. We wish you great luck._

She texted a member of the Marvey fan club who would be risking his neck by playing his part. She just hoped that Harvey would have enough sense in him to not throw a punch at work.

It didn’t take long for Lex Luthor to appear in front of Donna’s area, looking sharp and handsome in his dark grey suit and burgundy tie.

“Looking good.” She smiled warmly at the senior partner who would find himself on the receiving end of Harvey’s death glare in a few minutes.

“Thanks, Donna. You look amazing as usual.”

“I know.” Donna laughed and let him into Harvey’s office.

Harvey looked up from his pile of work as soon as the partner walked in. “Lex, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”

In Harvey’s mind, Luthor was one of the few partners in the firm who was courageous enough to take on challenging cases. He quite liked the guy but then, he remembered how Luthor had been in the associate’s break room on Monday, talking friendly to Mike.

“Harvey, I came by to ask you a favor. I already cleared it with Jessica and Mike but I wanted to get your permission myself.” Lex sat down in one of the chairs.

Harvey found himself sitting straight at the mention of Mike’s name. His guts told him that he wasn’t going to like this.

“What do you want from Mike?” The question came out harsher than he had expected.

“I want to take him to one of my client’s party tomorrow night. As my date.”

“As your date.” Harvey repeated incredulously.

“Yes, this client’s gay and well, Mike’s the prettiest guy in the office.” Lex managed to smile under Harvey’s lethal stare. It was a good thing that he had enough experience at faking smiles.

Harvey cursed inwardly at the fact that the party took place on Thursday night. He would get Mike back on Friday morning so Jessica could still call the shots on this one.

“And, you say that you’ve already cleared this with Mike?” He asked as he desperately tried to think of a male employee as pretty as his associate.

“Yes, he told me that he was single so no harm would be done in any way.”

“What about Harold?” Harvey remembered Mike talking about the blond associate that sat next to him. He didn’t know what Harold looked like but Mike was a blond –dirty blond- too and he looked pretty so how bad could Harold be?

“Excuse me?” Lex wondered if Harvey needed glasses. “Harold? Why would I want to take him when I can take Mike?”

Harvey really didn’t appreciate Lex using the expression ‘take Mike’. It sounded filthy and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Harvey, I promise I’ll look after him. I’ll make sure that nobody harasses him and I’ll get him home safely without too much alcohol in his system.”

The more Lex talked, the more agitated Harvey became.

“I think he’s big enough to go home on his own, Lex.” He snarled and for a moment, he thought that he had seen the other partner smile.

“You think this is funny?” He snapped. He wished that Mike had consulted him before saying yes.

“It’s just a party, Harvey. A harmless party.” Lex smiled again and got up from his seat. “Thanks for lending him. I owe you one.” He extended his hand and could tell that Harvey was trying very hard to not yank his hand off.

“No problem. Just bring him back in one piece or… well, I think you know what I’m capable of.”

“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. I give you my words.”

Harvey watched the partner leave and poured himself a glass of scotch. He needed to drown his frustration.

 

For the next few hours, everyone who worked with Harvey had to walk on eggshells. Even Donna had to admit that her boss looked particularly intimidating. Harvey’s mood didn’t get any better when he had left his office to go find a precedent in the library. He had passed Jessica’s office on his way only to witness Jessica, Mike, and Luthor talking friendly with one another. He couldn’t help but feel that he should have been in Luthor’s place, but he had tried to shrug it off and mind his own business. He told himself that they were probably just talking about the client who hosted the party.

Harvey’s mood got a little better when he ran into Mike at lunch time. He had spotted Mike in the hallway after having lunch with another partner and was about to get his attention when a girl snatched his associate.

“Mike! I heard you found one of my earrings!” Logan opened her arms and hugged her hero.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really. It was just lying there in the middle of the hallway. Anybody would’ve seen it.” Mike awkwardly patted his colleague on the back and that was when he noticed that Harvey was staring at him.

“Thank you so much! It’s one of my favorite earrings and I’ve been so upset, thinking that I lost it for good!” Logan hugged Mike tighter, fully aware that this would be her only chance to get so friendly with him. She didn’t have a death wish and had nothing personal against Harvey; she just loved Mike a lot.

“Uh, you’re welcome, Logan.”

Mike couldn’t understand why he felt guilty at the stiff expression on Harvey’s face. He wondered if this was what being a cheating spouse felt like.

‘What? Why would I think that? I’m just returning an innocent hug. Plus, it’s not like I’m going out with Harvey. I can hug anyone I want.’

When Logan finally let go of him, Mike tried to wave at Harvey but the senior partner had turned around and was stomping towards the other side of the hallway. Mike felt as if Harvey was stomping on his heart but he shook his head at the ridiculous feeling and hurried to Jessica’s office. He was going to focus on work and everything would be fine.

 

The table was turned when Mike got permission to go see Harvey in his break time. Something told him that Harvey hadn’t been upset about the hug in the hallway but about him attending the client’s party with another senior partner. So he had asked Jessica if he could get an opportunity to talk to Harvey and she had readily granted him permission.

Mike was on his way to Harvey’s office, carefully choosing words in his mind that would enable him to explain himself properly.

‘Now that he’s gone through a few days without me, perhaps he’ll appreciate me a little more when he gets me back.’ Mike thought hopefully. He was starting to think that spending a week away from Harvey wasn’t all that bad.

He grinned wickedly, deciding that he should tell Harvey what a great boss Jessica was and make him jealous, but his grin faltered when he saw the company nurse inside Harvey’s office. Nusaiba had rolled up Harvey’s sleeves and was checking his blood pressure.

“What’s wrong with him?” Mike asked Donna with horror.

Donna looked up from her computer monitor and saw a pale puppy. “Aww, don’t worry. I just called the nurse as a precaution. His blood pressure was rising, that’s all.”

“What happened?”

Donna wanted to say ‘You’re going to a party as another man’s date.’ but opted to let him figure it out on his own. “He’s probably just tired. You leave him for three days and that’s what happens.”

“Ah, he needs his mighty associate back.” Mike tried to say it lightly but he could hear a considerable amount of worry in his own voice.

Then he noticed how Harvey had taken off his vest and let the nurse unbutton his shirt. “What is she doing?!”

Donna bit her tongue at the urgent cry. “She’s trying to put a stethoscope to his chest.”

“But why can’t he unbutton it himself? The high blood pressure paralyzed his hands or something?”

Donna found a jealous Mike very adorable. “Come here so I can pinch your cheek.”

“What? Why would you want to do that?” Mike asked, his eyes still on Harvey’s open shirt.

“Harvey’s not the only one who misses you, Mike.”

Mike turned his head and looked at the lovely woman. “Oh, Donna...”

He gladly bent down and let her pinch him on the cheek. It was heartwarming to be missed by his team and he couldn’t wait to be with Harvey and Donna again.

 

“Mike?” Harvey buttoned up his shirt as he saw Mike hanging around Donna’s area. He thanked the nurse and called his associate into his office.

“Harvey! I heard you got old.” Mike joked and sat in front of Harvey’s desk, feeling better about the whole situation after getting an affectionate pinch from Donna.

“Who told you that? Luthor?” Harvey knew that Luthor wouldn’t say such a thing but he wanted to find out what Mike thought about him.

“Lex? Nah, he only said good things about you.”

“I wasn’t aware that you two were on a first-name basis.” Harvey grabbed his fountain pen and started to choke it with his grip.

Mike made a gesture with his hand to say that it was no big deal. “He insisted that I should call him Lex since I’m going to pose as his date tomorrow.”

“Right.”

Harvey’s jaw tightened and Mike started to explain, “I wanted to check with you first, Harvey, but Jessica gave me that stern look of hers and told me that I didn’t need your permission. She really scares me, you know. And, I can’t really leave her office as freely as I used to when I was working in my cubicle. I feel like she watches me like a hawk.”

Harvey understood but it didn’t make him feel any better.

“Are you mad at me? Damn, I should’ve at least texted you, but I was terrified that Jessica would know that I was texting you and think that I disobeyed her.”

“I’m not mad at you, puppy.” Harvey didn’t want Mike to suffer from this. It was his own fault that he couldn’t rescue Mike from Jessica’s den before a tiger snatched him away for a party.

“So you’re totally cool with me following Lex to the party.” Mike checked.

“I didn’t say that.” Harvey wished that he could throw his least favorite baseball through the window and let the whole city know how frustrated he was.

“You’re worried that I’ll make a mistake? You have nothing to worry about. I’ll do my best and make you proud. Lex is going to die to have me as his associate but I’ll be coming back to you.”

Harvey had to laugh at Mike’s obliviousness and feel a little happy at his heartfelt declaration. He had a very loyal associate. “Is that what you think why I’m not particularly pleased with that arrangement?”

“Uh, now that you’re asking, I can tell there’s a different reason.”

“And, what would that be?”

Mike studied Harvey’s face before answering, “You want to go to the party too. Lex told me that the client’s place is really nice, even better than Jessica’s.” He wasn’t going to let things get awkward between them again when he only had a few minutes left of his break.

As usual, Mike’s words gave Harvey an idea that he could work with. ‘That’s right. I want to go to the party and keep an eye on them. I’m not going to just sit here and do nothing like a lawyer who knows how to lose.’

Harvey curled his fingers into a fist and lifted it. “Bump it and get back to work. As your original boss, I’m obligated to encourage you.”

Mike’s face broke into a bright smile and he got on his feet to bump Harvey’s fist. Harvey immediately realized just how much he had missed that smile. He hadn’t appreciated it enough when Mike was around, and it killed him to think that Mike would be smiling like that at the party in someone else’s arms.

“I’ll see you around, Harvey. Have a good day.” Mike smiled softly and Harvey could read in his eyes that the kid didn’t want to leave.

“Go show Jessica how good you are. Go make me proud.”

Mike nodded and dragged his feet out of the office while Harvey contacted his savior. “Donna, find me a guest at that party who doesn’t have a plus one yet.”

Harvey finally felt a little better about the whole mess. It’s not like he was going to spy on the two or sabotage Luthor’s deal. He was just going to monitor his associate’s work and remind him that he still belonged to him.  



	11. The boy is mine

  
On Wednesday night, one day before the party, Harvey was sitting on the couch at his place, thinking about the one thing that he couldn’t stop thinking about; his associate.

‘At this rate, I’m going to turn into an alcoholic.’

Harvey snorted at himself holding a drink. He had been drinking every night (and sometimes even in the office during the day) since he had kissed Mike at Jessica’s party.

‘It’s not like he was a great kisser. So what is this all about?’ Harvey asked himself as he thought about ‘spin the bottle’. At first, he had been amused at the idea of teasing his associate who blushed and panicked way too easily. He would never admit it out loud but he found it endearing when Mike blushed or panicked over the tiniest things.

‘Then he kissed me back. That’s when this whole mess really started.’

Harvey groaned as he remembered all too clearly how it felt to have Mike’s trembling tongue shyly caress his own. He had felt a quiver of excitement run through him and had to break the kiss immediately. When he had let go of Mike, the kid had melted down on the floor and all he wanted to do was hold him up in his arms and kiss him again. He knew that it wasn’t a normal reaction so he had been avoiding Mike for the rest of the party. He had even eaten more cake than he should’ve had to lessen the urge to drag Mike into a room and kiss him. He had felt Mike’s eyes on him for the rest of the night but he had had no idea what to do about it since Mike clearly wasn’t a one-night stand.

‘Then he had to draw hearts all over the documents and insult my kissing skills.’

Harvey sighed but he didn’t regret kissing Mike in his office. Mike had kissed him back with more enthusiasm and there had been something more comforting about kissing on home turf.

‘Too bad he avoided me after that and we never got a chance to talk it through. Then Jessica snatched him away.’

He poured more alcohol in his glass and closed his eyes. He was aware that Mike had been equally confused about the kisses; the kid’s behavior had screamed confusion. He probably didn’t think that it was appropriate to kiss someone whom he worked for and didn’t know what to do about his feelings. It was quite possible that he didn’t even know exactly what he was feeling.

‘Oh Mike…’ Just thinking about Mike made Harvey’s heart skip a beat.

‘It’s the alcohol.’ He told himself as he tried to calm his pounding heart.

‘And, now he’s going to pose as someone else’s date.’

Harvey knew that he was being overly dramatic about the party and that he had been overprotective of Mike when Jessica had asked to borrow him, but he simply couldn’t think clearly when someone tried to take Mike away from him. It didn’t matter if they were just ‘borrowing’ him; it made him turn into a possessive beast.

Harvey realized that there was no use denying his feelings anymore. As he had told the librarian the other day, he had been trying to suppress his feelings but it clearly wasn’t doing him any good. And now that Jessica had taken him for the week, it had become obvious that he was (heavily) emotionally invested in his associate.

‘Does he want me too?’

Harvey came up with an answer right away. He didn’t think that Mike had been drawing those hearts, thinking about someone else. Besides, the kid had kissed him back with feelings and at the time, Harvey wasn’t willing to think about it too much but deep down in his mind, he knew that Mike must have felt something similar to him during those kisses.

Then his thoughts drifted to the revised fraternization policy. Legally there was nothing stopping him.

‘Let’s see how it plays out. At this point, it couldn’t get worse anyway. When did it all start though?’

Harvey reminisced about the day that he had first seen Mike. The kid had given him a name that didn’t suit him as well as ‘Mike Ross’ and had spilled weed all over the floor.

‘I still can’t believe I didn’t hand him over to the police and hired him on the spot.’

He chuckled at his awful judgment and realized that perhaps he had been a little bit fond of the kid even on day 1. It was obvious that he hadn’t been able to think clearly.

 

When Harvey arrived at the party with an older woman on his arm, the first thing that he did was to locate his associate.

‘Ah, there he is.’

Mike was wearing a suit that he had never seen before and had a bow tie that wasn’t a clip-on. An emotion that he could only describe as jealousy flared in his stomach.

‘So Luthor helped him buy a suit that looks decent for once and taught him how to put on a bow tie? But those are _my_ responsibilities.’

Growling like an animal that had spotted an unwelcome visitor on his territory, Harvey let his date mingle with the ladies and headed straight to Mike who was at the bar, talking to the bartender.

“Good evening, Ross.” He didn’t know if Mike was supposed to be Luthor’s associate as well so he decided to play it safe.

“Harvey?” Mike turned around with surprised yet smiling eyes. He hadn’t expected to see his real boss here.

“Shouldn’t you be calling me Mr. Specter?” At Mike’s confused expression, he generously added, “To maintain your cover.”

“Oh, that. Nah, the client knows that I work for someone else.”

“Really? Then I suppose he wouldn’t be surprised when you leave this party with me.”

Mike’s eyes grew wide.

“Unless you have plans with your _date_ after the party.” Harvey had never found the word ‘date’ so repulsive.

“Of course not.” Mike responded quickly.

“Good. Where is he anyway?” Harvey scanned the room as the bartender handed Mike two drinks.

“He’s taking a phone call somewhere.”

“Well, do what you have to do and when it’s over, come find me. Enjoy the party, Mike.”

Mike didn’t get a chance to ask why Harvey wanted to see him after the party as he became dumbfounded at the sight of Harvey waving at a blond woman on the other side of the room.

‘What! He brought a date? Oh gosh, why is she wearing like four layers of makeup? Harvey’s going to absolutely loathe her if she gets makeup on his suit.’

Narrowing his eyes at Harvey who was brushing off a hair from the woman’s forehead, Mike cursed inwardly. ‘Stupid blondies. And, where did Harvey even find her? In a coffin? She looks totally ancient! God, I really hope she gets makeup on his suit.’

“Oh, you got me a drink. Thanks, baby.”

An arm curled around his waist and Mike knew that it was time to act some more.

On the other side of the room, Harvey was pretending to listen to whatever his date was rambling about while he watched his associate show off his brilliant memory to a small group of ladies. There was so much light in Mike’s eyes that even from this far, he could see it without squinting. It was an enjoyable sight if he didn’t look at the man who was standing next to him with an arm slung around Mike’s waist.

“So who is he?” The woman asked, sipping her drink.

“Pardon me?” Harvey looked at his date.

“Who’s the blond boy who’s stealing all your attention away from me?” The woman asked again with a smile.

Harvey felt awful. Whatever his motivations were, he should have paid enough attention to his date. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I think my evening has just got more entertaining. So tell me about him. You want him on your arm by the end of the night?”

Harvey laughed. “He’s my associate. It just feels strange to see him with another partner.”

“You mean, with another man.” The woman eyed Harvey with a knowing smile.

Harvey neither admitted it nor denied it. He wasn’t going to come clean to a stranger but he didn’t want to deny his feelings if there was a way this woman could help him. He was planning to tell Mike how he felt about him after the party, but he wasn’t sure if he would last that long without exploding.

‘Perhaps she can fake a heart attack and end the party early.’ He mused as his eyes caught the truly disturbing sight of Mike leaning into Luthor’s embrace.

‘Why does he always have to overdo things? There’s absolutely no need to overact like that!’

The woman’s laughter made Harvey’s head turn to her. “What are you laughing about?”

“You.” She laughed some more and pointed at the dance floor. “Let’s go make Bambi jealous.”

“He’s a puppy actually.” Harvey felt stupid for pointing it out.

“Well, then you have nothing to worry about. Puppies always remain faithful to their first owners.”

The woman’s light words strangely made Harvey feel better.

 

Meanwhile Mike had impressed yet another guest with his knowledge and was getting showered with compliments by his boss for the night.

“Care to dance?” Lex asked and Mike nodded.

Mike felt good for the first time since he had kissed Harvey. With the kisses at Jessica’s party and in Harvey’s office, getting to work for Jessica, and posing as another senior partner’s date, he hadn’t felt relaxed in almost a week. But now that he felt pleasantly tipsy and he was going to leave the party with Harvey, and he would be working for Harvey again by tomorrow morning, things finally looked better.

“Oh, I didn’t know he could dance.”

Lex’s voice brought Mike out of his thoughts. He looked at where Lex pointed with his chin and saw Harvey slow-dancing with his date.

‘Geez, is it really necessary to stand that close to each other?’

Harvey was smiling gently at the woman and Mike wished that he had drunk more so that he could throw up all over her.

“Come on. Let’s dance. We can do better than that.”

“I agree.” Mike took Lex’s hand and headed out to the dance floor.

He made sure that they were in Harvey’s sight and kept an eye on him as he started to dance.

‘He moves with such grace.’ Mike noticed. He had never seen Harvey dance before. The man was simply breathtaking.

When he saw Harvey whisper in his date’s ear with a gorgeous smile on his face, Mike realized that there was nothing but pure jealousy in his system.

‘How can he smile like that for someone else? He really didn’t feel anything when he kissed me? Can’t he tell that I’m failing miserably at hiding my feelings for him?’

Mike plastered himself to his dance partner and glared at the person who was making him miserable.

It only took a few seconds for Harvey to spot his associate comfortably nested in another man’s arms.

‘Don’t push it, puppy.’ He warned Mike with a death glare.

‘You started first.’ Mike stuck out his tongue and wrapped his arms tightly around the other senior partner.

Lex could tell that his evening might end with a hard punch in his face, but he had known about the risks before he had signed up to play such a vital role. He had a Mike poster (in which he was making a heart with his arms over his head) on the back of his bedroom door and drank morning coffee in a Harvey mug that gave him confidence to leave his apartment and go kick some ass.

‘Anything to get the two together.’ He reminded himself as he let Mike use him to make Harvey jealous.

But after a few minutes of getting used (aka getting touched all over the upper body), Lex had to speak up for himself. “Uh, Mike, I’m more than happy to dance with you so intimately but you may want to remember that I’m a guy.”

“Huh?” Then Mike realized what Lex was talking about. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Harvey couldn’t hear what the annoying pair was talking about but he could definitely see Mike blushing adorably.

‘What does he think he’s doing? What the hell did Luthor tell him? That he looks incredibly stunning tonight?’ The built-up jealousy exploded and Harvey couldn’t stand the frustration any longer.

“Would you mind spending the rest of the evening with another gentleman? He’d give you his full attention that you deserve.” He asked his date who laughed and said, “Go get him, Tiger.”

So Harvey let go of his partner and leapt across the dance floor, his eyes locked at his prey.

“Luthor, I’d like to get my associate back if you’re done with him for the night.” Harvey’s growling voice sent shivers to both men.

“Sure. He was brilliant tonight.” Lex was relieved that Harvey’s anger seemed to be aimed at Mike and not at him.

“Of course he’s brilliant. He’s _my_ associate.” Harvey hissed and ripped Mike off the other partner.

“Oh, and I left a beautiful lady there so please take good care of her, will you?” Harvey added and Lex fled the scene with joy.

Mike stood there with his mouth closed, feeling both terrified and excited at Harvey’s angry form. Harvey looked so hot when he was angry and he was now sure that the senior partner actually had feelings for him.

“You’re coming with me.” Harvey’s voice was softer and Mike gladly followed him out of the client’s house.  



	12. Good riddance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mild M-rated material. Nothing explicit though!

  
The cab ride from the client’s party to Harvey’s condo was quiet as both of them were busy looking back at the strange evening. Harvey was trying to get rid of the disgusting feeling of jealousy that had haunted him all evening while Mike was working on the best way to tell Harvey about his feelings.

‘Why is he so quiet? He’s never this quiet.’

Harvey glanced at Mike who was looking out the window. He put a hand on Mike’s forearm, letting him know that he wasn’t mad at him. Then he felt the soft material that was covering his associate’s arm. The fire that he had been trying to put out flared up instantly.

“This suit you’re wearing.” Harvey gestured at Mike’s suit as if it carried deadly germs.

Mike turned his head and faced Harvey. “What about it?”

“You bought it yourself?”

Mike spoke carefully, “No. Lex bought it for me.”

Harvey’s face stiffened. “But you’re going to pay him back, right?”

Mike scratched the back of his head with the hand that wasn’t trapped under Harvey’s grip. “I offered to, of course, but he told me that it was a gift for helping him out. He insisted and I didn’t want to say no to a superior who appreciated my work.”

“I appreciate your work too.” Harvey snapped.

“I know that.” Mike spoke gently.

“He bought you one suit?” Harvey liked to be thorough.

“Yeah, and this tie.” Mike pointed at his bow tie.

“He taught you how to put it on too?” Harvey didn’t want to sound like an overly jealous boyfriend but he couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, but I didn’t get to learn properly.” Mike answered shyly.

Harvey turned into a rock. “Why? How is that even possible? You have an eidetic memory, Mike. Were you too busy drooling over his many charms to pay attention to a bow tie?”

Mike would have laughed if Harvey’s voice hadn’t been full of rage. “No, Harvey. You’re the one who always teach me about ties so it felt weird to learn from someone else. I was thinking about you while he explained, and the lesson ended all too quickly.”

Mike’s Harvey-oriented answer put out most of the fire but it didn’t mean that Harvey liked to see his associate in that particular suit.

 

“Take off the suit.” was the first thing that Harvey said as soon as they stepped into the condo.

“What?” Mike wondered what was wrong with his suit.

“Take it off.”

Mike saw Harvey take off his jacket so he did the same. Perhaps Harvey was going to hang his jacket in the closet for him. He usually didn’t care where he left his suit jacket but he liked this one and figured that it deserved to be treated better.

“Here you go.” Mike handed over the jacket and Harvey gave it a nasty look before checking the pockets.

“What are you doing?” Mike made himself comfortable on the couch.

“I’m making sure that you’re not carrying anything disturbing.” Harvey answered as he checked the inside breast pocket.

“Like what? A bug or something?” Mike was confused.

Harvey wanted to say ‘No, like someone’s phone number.’ but he chose to remain silent and focused on the search. He wanted to get it over with as soon as possible because he could smell cologne that did not belong to him or Mike on the jacket and it was making him sick.

“You found anything?” Mike asked, taking off his bow tie.

Harvey shook his head and looked at his associate sitting on his couch. He was still wearing the damn suit but now that he was at his place, it was just a little less irritating.

‘Still, it has to go. All of it.’ Harvey threw the jacket on the floor but managed to not stamp on it.

“Listen to me, Mike. You can’t accept a suit from someone else.” He sat next to Mike to emphasize his words.

“Why not?”

“You’re a reflection of me so _I_ get to choose what you wear to work. Understood?”

Mike nodded even though he wasn’t entirely convinced. “Don’t worry, Harvey. Nobody ever buys me a suit anyway so it shouldn’t be a problem in the future.”

“Good. Now take off the rest so I can burn it. I’ll fetch you an old suit of mine instead.” Harvey got up from the couch.

“Wait a minute. What?” Mike wondered if he had had one too many drinks.

“Well, you can’t go home in your underwear, Mike.”

“I thought you were going to hang my jacket for me.” Mike picked up his jacket from the floor.

“Now why would I do that?” Harvey raised an eyebrow.

“Because this is a nice jacket! Everyone gushed about how stunning I looked tonight!”

Harvey had to agree with those people but he wasn’t going to admit it out loud. “Well, you could look better.”

“Thanks, but I’m keeping this jacket. I like it.”

Then Mike made the mistake of hugging the jacket and nuzzling it. The alcohol was making a comeback in his system.

“Give that to me. I’ll buy you a better one.” Harvey held out a hand. He felt like tearing the jacket to pieces.

“No thanks, Harvey. I already owe you so much. I don’t need you to buy me suits too.”

“Hand it over when I ask you nicely, kid. That jacket has to go.”

Suits meant more than just shiny clothes to Harvey, and he simply couldn’t stand his love interest pouring his affection into a suit jacket that some other man had bought him.

“It’s just a jacket, Harvey.”

“It’s never just a jacket, Mike.”

“Why are you making such a fuss about it? Ever since we left the party, all you’ve been talking about is suits, suits, suits!”

“Keep your voice down, rookie.”

“Gosh, I have important things to tell you and you want to fight over a jacket? What’s the big deal? It looks great on me!” Mike shot out of the couch and shoved the jacket into Harvey’s arms. He didn’t feel like talking to Harvey about his feelings anymore.

“Where are you going?”

“Home! Where else do you think?” Mike snapped and stomped towards the door. He was frustrated and hurt by how Harvey was too busy being obsessed with his jacket to care about his feelings. He had been foolish to think that Harvey had brought him here to talk about what was going on with them. Apparently all Harvey cared about was how he looked in front of the clients and potential clients.

“You’re not going anywhere in that hideous suit.” Harvey’s voice was burning with a mixture of emotions.

“Well, watch me.”

Mike was almost at the door when he felt Harvey turn him around and push him against the door. “What the hell, Harvey!”

“Take off the suit or I’m going to take it off myself.” Harvey trapped his associate by placing his hands on the door. Why couldn’t Mike just listen to him?

Mike narrowed his eyes at his boss. “Why are you so adamant about taking this suit off me? Really. Tell me.”

Harvey wondered if this was a good time to come clean. ‘Of course not.’ Then He looked into Mike’s eyes and saw annoyance and frustration in them. It wasn’t a good look on him and Harvey wanted to change that. ‘Okay, this is an awful time but there might not be a better one.’

Harvey decided to take his chances and took a step forward, his eyes still locked with Mike’s. He heard Mike inhale sharply and saw the beautiful eyes widen as their bodies made contact. They had both taken off their jackets so the contact felt more intimate then either of them had expected; Mike secretly liked it and Harvey openly loved it.

“I don’t like to smell someone else on you.” Harvey confessed, bringing his face closer to Mike’s.

“What…?”

Mike looked genuinely surprised and Harvey knew that it was time to press for more. “I don’t like that someone else got the chance to make you look so stunning. I also don’t like that someone else had his paws all over you. I don’t care if it was for a client. It can’t happen again. Got it?”

Mike nodded, amazed at what he was hearing. It couldn’t be a dream because he could feel so much of Harvey just by having him pressed against him.

“There’s one more thing that I don’t like.” Harvey’s voice was impossibly low.

“What is it?” Mike gulped nervously.

Harvey closed whatever small gap there had been between them and put his lips right in front of Mike’s ear. “I don’t like that your lips aren’t on mine already. Fix it _now_.”

It took an extra second for Mike to fully comprehend what he had heard. As Harvey tilted his head for the best possible angle, Mike grabbed Harvey’s shirt, squeezed his eyes shut and kissed his boss enthusiastically. Harvey took a firm hold of the slender waist and the back of Mike’s neck. He kissed Mike so deeply that the blond head ended up firmly pressed against the door.

‘God, I didn’t even know that I missed this.’ Mike moaned into the kiss. Harvey’s tongue was hitting all the right spots.

‘Damn it, he tastes even better than before. I should’ve kissed him sooner.’ Harvey was so lost in the kiss that he had almost forgotten about the suit.

‘Oh right, let’s get it over with.’ Harvey lowered his hands and tore the white shirt open.

Mike’s eyes flew open at the sound of his buttons hitting the floor. His boss was apparently a very jealous man. “Harvey! You didn’t have to tear it! I could’ve just washed it so it would smell like flowers instead!”

Harvey didn’t bother to respond. He just lifted Mike’s undershirt and pushed his head under it.

Mike turned red as he arched his back. He couldn’t see Harvey’s face but he could feel his breath and he could most definitely feel his skillful tongue. He couldn’t suppress the lewd moans and whimpers as Harvey familiarized himself with his chest.

“Harvey... Oh Jesus… this is so obscene…” Mike gripped Harvey’s shoulders with his hands.

Harvey gave Mike’s chest a long lick before pulling his head out. He needed a more comfortable position to explore the rest of the chest so he tripped him up.

“Harvey!” Mike instinctively hung onto Harvey’s shirt while Harvey’s hands came down to protect the back of Mike’s head and his waist.

“How many times have you used this trick?” Mike was impressed and completely turned on. Harvey had moved swiftly and elegantly like a seasoned dancer and had left him unharmed yet lying on the floor.

“Let’s say that I’ve had just enough rehearsals to be ready for the main event.” Harvey grinned wickedly and got the shirt off Mike’s shoulders.

“Harvey, please… Hurry up…” Mike pleaded as he couldn’t stay still with excitement. Just the idea of lying aroused on his boss’ floor was enough to make him feel light-headed.

Harvey moved on to taking off Mike’s undershirt but he had to check something first. “Is this yours? Or did he buy this too?”

“For God’s sake, Harvey! It’s mine!” Mike yelled, frustration clear in his voice.

“Okay. No need to get your panties in a knot.” Harvey lifted an eyebrow and got rid of the undershirt.

“Stop talking and get on with it!” Mike had never been known for his patience.

“Did you just bark at me, puppy?” Harvey crossed his arms with an amused smile on his face.

“I don’t know!… Maybe!” Mike grabbed Harvey’s tie and pulled it down. He attacked Harvey’s lips and pushed his tongue into his boss’ mouth, making an appreciative sound.

Harvey noticed with a pleasant surprise that his associate could be bold when he was aroused. It was cute and all, but the puppy had to be put back in his place. So Harvey slapped Mike’s hand away from his tie and loosened it before ending the kiss.

“Harvey…” Mike whined.

“Hush.” Harvey took off his tie and put it around Mike’s neck instead. “Now get up so I can drag your sweet ass to bed.”

Mike managed to get up with Harvey’s help and followed his boss into the bedroom. The kiss had ended a minute ago and Harvey was dragging him by his loose tie but he still had trouble breathing; anticipation and affection swirled in his mind, making it difficult to breathe.

“Lose your pants.” Harvey ordered, regaining power.

Mike nodded but he didn’t feel bold anymore. A blush crept onto his neck and he looked down while he took off his belt.

“My eyes are up here, Mike.” Harvey realized that he greatly enjoyed both the bold Mike and the blushing one.

Mike looked at Harvey who sat on the bed and started to take off his pants. It wasn’t the first time that he was getting undressed in front of someone else but doing it while looking into his gorgeous boss’ eyes felt very different. The sound of the zipper was far too loud to be decent but Mike tried to ignore it and pushed his pants down. Harvey looked down at Mike’s shoes and Mike didn’t need an order to get rid of his shoes and socks.

“Good boy.” Harvey smiled with lust thick in his eyes. He gestured to Mike to join him on the bed and pinned him down with one hand. His associate looked lovely with only his boxers and Harvey’s loose tie on. Unable to help himself, Harvey kissed Mike hard on the mouth before getting up to kick off his own shoes and socks.

“Why are you still wearing so many clothes?” Mike asked, not happy with how Harvey was still wearing a shirt and a pair of pants.

“Because you don’t get to see what’s underneath yet.” Harvey was back on the bed.

“But you got to see everything of me!” Mike protested.

“Not everything.”

Harvey yanked down Mike’s boxers and smirked. “Now, I’ve seen everything.”

Mike’s hands were quick to cover his intimate parts but even without an eidetic memory, Harvey remembered it all.

“Hey, no need to hide yourself. You look even more stunning without that suit.” Harvey caressed Mike’s toned thighs.

Despite his embarrassment, Mike burst out laughing. “What on earth do I have to do to stop you from bringing up that suit?”

Harvey straddled his associate and leaned down for a kiss. It felt amazing to kiss him freely, whenever he wanted to.

“You can tell me what you want tonight.” Harvey added a few more kisses on the lower lip.

The blush was back on Mike’s face and Harvey saw Mike shake his head.

“Fine. Then let’s keep talking about the smelly suit.”

Harvey was about to sit up when Mike threw his arms around his neck. “Wait!”

“I’m listening.” Harvey knew that he was being hard on Mike, teasing him like this, but he liked to think of it as a revenge of what had happened at the party.

Mike looked at Harvey and let out a small sigh before whispering in Harvey’s ear. There was no way that he was going to say such filthy things out loud.

“That’s all?” Harvey raised an eyebrow. “I was hoping that we’d get to do more than that.” He teased.

Mike closed his eyes and whispered some more. He was never going to be able to look him in the face again.

“That’s much better.” Harvey grinned with satisfaction. “Let’s get started with request number one then.”

Harvey left the bed to strip down to his boxers. Mike propped himself up on his elbows and watched intently. He memorized everything that Harvey showed him and found himself smacking his lips.

“Care to give me a hand?” Harvey climbed back on the bed and crushed his lips against Mike’s as he felt warm hands take away the last piece of his clothes. He could feel Mike directly on his skin now. Even though they hadn’t done much so far, Harvey noticed that both of them were painfully aroused. He knew that he had to get through Mike’s requests quickly or they wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Moving on to request number two.” Harvey broke the kiss and slid down Mike’s body, following the happy trail with his tongue.

“God, Harvey!!...”

Mike started to make some adorable noise which made Harvey shudder with lust. It was time to stop thinking about the stupid suit and enjoy the night.


	13. Harvey's epiphany

  
It was half past two in the morning and Harvey still hadn’t managed to fall asleep. He was lying comfortably in bed, watching his associate drool all over his pillow.

‘I can’t believe he looked so hot just an hour ago.’

Harvey chuckled and pressed a kiss on the tip of Mike’s nose. Mike now smelled a little like him and it gave Harvey a deep sense of satisfaction.

‘We’ll have to do it again in the morning so that everyone can smell me on him.’

Now that he got his hands on the sinfully fair skin, Harvey didn’t think that he could stop himself anytime soon.

‘Hmm, I wonder if he’s going to be hoarse when he wakes up.’

Mike had displayed a wide range of moans for over an hour and Harvey wished that he had recorded it.

‘Maybe next time.’ Harvey believed that it would serve as nice self-entertaining material for the times when Mike wasn’t around.

“Mmm… Harvey…” Mike tossed and turned the other way, leaving a frown on Harvey’s face.

‘Great. Now he’s going to drool on the other side of the pillow.’

Not having anything fun to watch anymore, Harvey quietly got out of bed and started to clean up the floor. He went straight to pick up Mike’s new pants and decided to throw them out before Mike could get a chance to protest.

‘Hmm, the shirt is torn in the front so it will have to go to the dumpster, but the jacket and pants can go to charity.’

There was a charity clothes bin on the second floor, next to the gym, so Harvey threw on some clothes and locked the door behind him. Given how Mike had just started to snore, he didn’t think that the kid would wake up anytime soon.

As he went down the stairs (Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t always take the elevator – taking the stairs was a nice workout and he valued his gorgeous piece of body), Harvey’s mind went back to the party.

‘I wonder if my date went home safely.’ Harvey regretted not checking up on her after leaving the party. He had been too preoccupied with Mike and his smelly suit.

‘I’ll have to ask Luthor in the morning.’ He thought as he noticed how distasteful the name ‘Luthor’ felt in his mouth. It was a shame, really, because he used to quite like the guy.

‘Wait a minute. Perhaps I don’t need to throw away the shirt. Maybe I can use it to send a strong message to him so that he’ll watch where he puts his paws in the future.’

Harvey was no fool, especially when it came to reading body languages. Luthor might not have lied to him about why he wanted Mike to be his date, but he clearly hadn’t told him that he found Mike adorable. Harvey was certain that he hadn’t mistaken the looks that the partner had given Mike all evening. Luthor wasn’t a professional actor and there were two things in this world that one could not hide; cold and love.

‘I thought he was straight but I suppose I can’t blame him for suddenly wanting to play for the other team. My associate is _that_ cute.’ Harvey wore a cocky smile on his face and strolled down the last flight of stairs.

He was about to open the door that led to the hallway of the second floor when he stopped dead in his tracks. All the pieces of the puzzle came together in mere seconds and Harvey had an epiphany.

“It was a trap!”

Yes, Luthor really seemed to have feelings for his associate and his client was really gay (Harvey had personally checked published articles on the client) but what were the odds that the party had taken place during the time that Jessica had borrowed Mike? The time window was very narrow; only four days. Besides, his date had been a little too willing to let him go after Mike. His dates usually clung to him like a magnet; he was that charming.

‘I should’ve known better when Donna found me that woman so quickly. Wealthy women always have several plus ones ready at their feet.’

Then there was the matter about Mike’s cell phone. Everyone knew that Mike didn’t particularly guard his phone well but out of all the days to lose his phone, it had happened right after Mike had started working in Jessica’s office. If Harvey was completely honest with himself, he had never missed his associate more than during those couple of hours when he couldn’t reach him on the phone.

‘Jesus Christ, how did I not see this sooner?’

All this time, Harvey had assumed that Jessica was going through a mid-life crisis and wanted to have some entertainment at the expense of Mike and him. He figured that that was the reason why she had suddenly been interested in featuring them in the company newsletter and the VIP calendar, why they had gotten to kiss each other _twice_ at her birthday party, and why she had changed the company’s anti-fraternization policy. But if another senior partner and a stupid associate were involved, it was likely that the trap had been set by more than four people.

‘So Jessica gets to see us kiss and Donna gets to torture us and laugh at me pacing around the office, worried sick about Mike. Luthor gets to go on a date with Mike and that Harold kid… well, he was probably just terrified of Jessica.’

Harvey realized that he could now think clearly because he had enough room in his mind for other subjects than Mike. Of course, maintaining a personal relationship with Mike would require his full efforts and he was aware that Mike could take over his whole world one day, but for now, he had his associate where he wanted –in his bed- and he could concentrate on other matters.

‘Speaking of Mike, he must know something. He has more interactions with the employees than I do.’

Harvey made a mental note to get Mike to tell him anything and everything that he knew about this suspicious business. The kid might not be aware of what was going on, but his eidetic memory could help Harvey gather enough clues to get a bigger and clearer picture.

‘I’ll ask him _after_ I claim him again in the morning.’

He grinned as he reminisced about how ecstatic it had felt to be inside Mike. Just like in their working relationship, Mike had been enthusiastic and eager to please him. Harvey hadn’t been surprised to find out that they had great chemistry in bed too but it had been highly pleasurable nonetheless.

‘Okay, let’s get rid of the suit and go back to him already.’ Harvey opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

If Jessica and Donna had helped him open his eyes and realize that he had deep feelings (Oh God, who would’ve thought that he would live to use such words?) for Mike, then he was grateful for that. He knew that he wouldn’t have listened to them if they had tried talking to him, but that didn’t mean he liked being manipulated. His competitive nature urged him to seek revenge, and he had an advantage because the women had no idea that he had caught up with them.

‘Mike and I will work out a plan. It’s our turn to have some fun.’

Harvey tossed Mike’s suit in the clothes bin and headed back upstairs. He couldn’t wait for morning to come.

 

The next morning, Ray was leaning against the town car with his favorite cup of coffee in his hand. After getting a detailed e-mail from Lex, he had been smiling like an idiot all night. Harvey already had wealth and fame. He was also healthy and smart. In Ray’s mind, the only thing that had been missing was love so he couldn’t be happier for his boss who had always been kind to him.

‘Ah, the air smells so sweet and fresh today! This must be the scent of Harvey’s happiness.’ Ray squealed inwardly and saw Harvey walk out of the building.

‘Wait. Where’s Mike?’ He thought for a moment but chose not to worry. Mike wasn’t known for his punctuality. He probably forgot something and had to go back upstairs.

“It’s a beautiful morning, Harvey.” Ray hoped that his grin wasn’t too obvious as he opened the door to the backseat.

“Good morning to you too, Ray.” Harvey got in the car with a poker face. He was yet to determine if Ray had something to do with the conspiracy so he couldn’t risk wearing his post-coitus glow on his face.

Since Mike didn’t mind opening his own doors, Ray walked around to the driver’s seat and hopped in the car.

“What are we waiting for?” Harvey asked when he noticed that Ray made no attempt to get the engine started.

“For Mike!” Ray answered a little too cheerfully.

“And, why would we be waiting for Mike?”

“Oh… We’re not waiting for him? I just thought… Donna told me to pick up both of you here so I figured… Never mind, boss. We’re leaving now.”

Ray quickly started the car while Harvey smelled suspicion. His driver had looked overexcited when he had cried out Mike’s name; he was definitely in on the conspiracy.

Ray was glad that Harvey didn’t say another word. He already had enough on his plate as he tried to drive safely while desperately attempting to figure out what had happened. From what he could tell, Harvey didn’t look like a man who had enjoyed a wonderful night with one of the cutest blond in the city.

‘What could’ve possibly happened? I don’t understand! Lex said that Harvey looked like he wanted to beat the hell out of him! He also said that he saw with his own eyes how the two got in the same cab!’

Ray made a left turn and kept thinking. ‘Mike could’ve gone home early in the morning to get changed, right? Nah, that still doesn’t explain why Harvey’s not screaming with joy. He always has that look on his face after a hot night, and the one I’m looking at right now is _not_ one of those looks.’

Ray stopped checking the rear-view mirror and tried a different angle. ‘Hmm… maybe Mike wasn’t good in bed. Or he was a virgin who just couldn’t stop blushing and saying no.’ But he didn’t think that Harvey would have minded either of those features.

‘Then what went wrong? Harvey messed it up? Premature ejaculation? So he got embarrassed and sent Mike home?’

He couldn’t think of a better theory so he decided to stick with that one. ‘Who knew? I always imagined that he’d last as long as an Energizer. But it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m sure it’s a temporary problem. Mike was probably too tight for him. It’ll be fine once Harvey gets used to it.’

Satisfied with his deduction, Ray looked into the rear-view mirror with a sympathetic smile on his face.

‘What’s that about?’ Harvey thought as he met Ray’s eyes in the mirror.

What Mike had told him over breakfast had been quite shocking. Mike had been reluctant to talk about his coworkers, but a solid blowjob had him spilling valuable information while he was being pushed to the edge. Mike had told him that Donna kept mugs and tissue boxes that were covered with their faces and that he had seen many employees leave her area with H&M shopping bags.

‘Oh, Mike…’

Harvey remembered how the look on Mike’s face had been priceless when he had told him that H&M probably stood for ‘Harvey and Mike’. He had no idea how the kid could have not figured it out, but that was why he had a mentor to help him develop his skills. Harvey had been a little disappointed that Mike hadn’t come straight to him with the information, but he understood that he had just been trying to be a good friend to Donna.

‘Yeah, we’re all good friends here, trying to have some fun, aren’t we?’ He snorted, feeling a little betrayed that Donna had made such products without his consent.

‘I might forgive her if she chose the right pictures though. But if I look even a year older, I’m going to sue her.’

Harvey started to think about Mike to calm himself down. He had given him cab fare so that Mike wouldn’t have to bike to work with a sore ass. He had been the cause of it so it was only fair to pay for the cab.

‘He was so damn flexible… The way he arched his back… How wide his legs would open for me…’

Harvey was so lost in his breathtaking memories that he missed Ray sending a quick text message with trembling fingers.

 

Donna was in the ladies’ room, adding another layer of mascara on her eyelashes, when Ray’s text message alarmed her: _CODE BLUE! M NOT HERE! H LOOKS WEIRD!_

‘Code blue?’ Donna gasped. Code blue meant that the member had failed his mission.

‘But his mission was an easy one! He was supposed to drive them to work and eavesdrop on their conversation! How hard can that be? And, what does he mean by ‘Harvey looks weird’?’

Donna wasn’t sure what was going on but she trusted Ray’s judgment. The man had worked for Harvey long enough to properly read the signs on the Harvey board. If Ray said that Harvey looked weird, there was a good chance that they had actually failed.

‘I can’t believe this is happening! The plan was perfect!’

She dropped her mascara on the sink and grabbed her cell phone. Then, just as the Marvey fan club action guide stated, she immediately sent out an alert to every member’s phone.

Meanwhile, Norma was at her desk, enjoying the feeling of success as a matchmaker, when she received the alert message.

‘Code blue? We failed?! But how is that possible? Lex _swore_ to me that there was no way Harvey wasn’t going to pound Mike!’

Norma shot out of her chair and grabbed her phone to set up an urgent meeting with the club members. Given how it was a Friday, if they couldn’t find a way to fix the problem before six o’clock, they were guaranteed to spend a torturous weekend with the unsettling knowledge that Harvey and Mike were still not together.

 

Mike slowly got out of the cab, making sure that he looked sad and pissed off. He had never been a good actor but Harvey had wanted him to act today.

‘I have to admit that I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s confused faces.’ Mike cackled inwardly as he walked towards the building.

Mike had had no problem remembering who had received an H&M bag from Donna while he was watching, but Harvey was convinced that they were dealing with a much bigger organization. Mike had agreed but he couldn’t really focus on what Harvey was saying because Harvey looked so hot when he was being angry and smart at the same time.

‘Oh well, all I need to do is look annoyed and see how people act around me today. If they’re overly nice to me or ask too many questions about the party, they can join the black list.’

Feeling the soft breeze on his cheeks, Mike decided to look up and enjoy the blueness of the sky before he had to walk into the cold-hearted building.

‘I can’t believe I slept with Harvey! And, I can’t believe we’re going to do it again tonight!’

Mike tried his best not to smile in case someone was watching him, and it was at that very moment that he thought he had spotted a pair of binoculars behind one of the many windows.

“Crap! I think he saw me! I’ve been made!” Deb yelled out in horror as she lay flat on the floor.

“What? He has a super memory, not super eyes. I’m sure he didn’t see you.” Jess reassured her comrade.

“What did _you_ see?” Norma was more interested in what Mike looked like. She hoped that he didn’t look ‘weird’ as well.

“He got out of a cab and looked somewhat annoyed. He walked slowly towards the building and then looked up!” Deb reported.

“He got out of a cab? Oh, that can’t be good.” Donna let out a sigh.

“What’s wrong with that?” Jess asked, looking wide-eyed.

“He only takes a cab when he’s got a lot on his mind. He doesn’t bike on those days for safety reasons.”

At Donna’s explanation, the blood drained from Jess and Deb’s face. Things weren’t looking great so far, but Donna was confident that whatever had happened or had not happened last night, all that her boys needed was one last gentle push.

“Don’t worry, sisters. If nothing seems to have worked by the end of the day, we can always go with the good, old ‘Lock them in the elevator’ strategy. Thanks to Benjamin, we have access to the elevators and the security cameras inside.” Norma smiled.

“That’s perfect! Can’t we go with that one right now?” Deb had once dreamed about Harvey and Mike enjoying a little action in the elevator and it had been body-meltingly hot.

“No, that’s our last resort. We don’t want to push too hard.” Norma’s tone was firm.

“But didn’t we already push them hard with the whole party strategy?” Jess wanted to see some elevator action too.

“Exactly my point. Look where it got us! We’re going to try gentle and subtle approaches, and if nothing works by six, we’ll go through with the elevator plan.” Norma made up her mind and saw Donna nod in agreement.

‘Gosh, I suddenly hope nothing else works…’ Deb mused as she returned to her office with her binoculars.

‘Geez, how I wish I could sabotage all the other plans for the day.’ Jess thought as she left the floor.

‘I’ll have to grill Mike when he comes up.’ Donna thought while Norma was busy moaning at the presence of the bump that had suddenly appeared on her path to become the best closer in the city.

‘I _will_ get those two together before sunset! I _will_ see them rub themselves shamelessly against each other with my own eyes!’

She stomped towards her area, making Louis wonder what had gotten into his secretary. One thing that Harvey and Mike didn’t know was that the one who was in charge of the conspiracy was a woman who had a stellar record of matchmaking twenty-seven couples.  



	14. Sweet revenge

  
Most of the Marvey fan club members were gathered in the largest conference room. It wasn’t half past seven yet so they could use a short urgent meeting. Everyone looked worried except for Lex who looked confused and guilty.

Norma snapped her fingers and got the members’ attention. “Okay, we don’t have a lot of time so let’s get straight to the point. Contrary to our expectations, Mike wasn’t at Harvey’s place this morning when Ray went to pick them up at seven.”

“Maybe Mike left early to get changed!” Margaret yelled as she pictured the puppy getting out of his clothes.

“Nice theory. But he came to work in a cab a few minutes ago and according to Donna, he only takes the cab when he’s got a lot on his mind. Plus, our recon agent Deb saw him looking annoyed. These are obviously very disturbing signs.”

There were murmurs until Jenna raised her hand and asked, “Do we know if Mike was ever at Harvey’s place? Perhaps they had an argument in the cab and Mike switched cabs and went home right away.”

“Good point. But Lex remembered the license plate of the cab and Donna tracked down the driver just now. Donna, do you mind?” Norma asked the second-in-command.

“Not at all. I personally spoke with the driver who picked them up from the party and he was absolutely positive that he dropped both of them off at Harvey’s place. From what he could remember, they weren’t particularly friendly towards each other but there wasn’t a huge argument.”

“So what’s the working theory here? What went wrong at Harvey’s place?” Claire asked with a dark face.

Lex cleared his throat from his seat. “I think we may have pushed Harvey’s buttons too far. Everything was under control until we hit the dance floor. But after that, well… as you must have read in my e-mail, Mike pretty much threw himself at me to get Harvey’s attention and I think that may have resulted in a quarrel.”

“Ah, maybe they had a lovers’ quarrel.” Rebecca suggested.

“Isn’t there a saying that says ‘The quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love.’? Perhaps we didn’t fail completely.” Elizabeth pointed out.

“Yeah, _amantium irae amoris integratiost_.” Lex offered and had the ladies swooning over him.

“Where are they now? Isn’t Mike supposed to work for Miss Pearson until ten this morning?” Abby asked.

Donna answered, “Yes, but Harvey just headed over to Jessica’s office. It looks like he’s trying to get Mike out of there before ten.”

“Aww, Mike’s knight in shiny armor!” Miza sighed happily.

“Perhaps we still have hope!” Irene smiled brightly.

“What’s our plan for the day then? How can we fix this when we don’t know what the problem is?” Logan was curious.

Norma nodded. “Good question. Donna, Lex, and I had a little chat and we decided that it would be best to let them work it out for a few hours. We’ll monitor the situation until lunch but if an opportunity presents itself, we’ll make our move earlier.”

Donna added, “In the meantime, I’ll try to get Harvey to apologize to Mike. If there was a quarrel, it’s likely that Harvey did most of the yelling.”

“What happens after lunch if they fail to work it out?” Emma raised her hand.

“We have a few plans in mind but we’ll be accepting your suggestions on our Facebook page until one in the afternoon.” Donna answered with an inviting smile.

“Sisters and brothers, there’s no need to worry yet. Remember, every cloud has a silver lining. Have some faith and Marvey will deliver. Dismiss!” Norma ended the meeting, hoping that her words would come true.

 

Meanwhile, Harvey had just marched into Jessica’s office with his most intimidating look. “Jessica, we need to talk.”

“Why, come sit, Harvey. We were just talking about you.” Jessica offered him a seat next to Mike on the couch.

“Harvey.”

“Mike.”

Mike tried hard not to smile at Harvey’s appearance. Harvey had promised to get him out of the managing partner’s office even though he had assured him that he would be able to last two and a half more hours. He still didn’t think he needed to be saved but it was nice to have someone come to his rescue.

“Would you like some tea? Mike and I start our morning with a nice cup of tea.” Jessica poured a cup for Harvey.

“I’m not here to have some tea, Jessica. I need my associate back.”

“He’s mine till ten, Harvey. That was the deal.” Jessica smiled and pushed the teacup towards him.

Harvey was about to make it very clear whom Mike Ross belonged to when a picture over Jessica’s shoulder caught his attention. It was a picture of him and Mike kissing at Jessica’s birthday party. “Where did you get that? And, why is it in your office?”

Mike turned red as the picture in question was brought to attention. He had already choked on his tea when he had spotted the picture but he couldn’t ask Jessica what it was doing there.

“I like it. Nice angle, don’t you think? It’s my office so I can put it wherever I want.” Jessica lifted her teacup and breathed in the soothing scent of chamomile.

“But it’s _our_ faces. You can’t just display that without our consent, especially not in a workplace.” Harvey’s tone was firm while he took a sip of tea. He needed to hold something so that his hands wouldn’t automatically head over to Mike’s thighs.

“Consent? Fine. Let’s talk about it then. Mike, do you mind me keeping that picture in the office? I think you look adorable in it.”

Mike swallowed hard and glanced at Harvey who gave him a small shake of his head. He then glanced at Jessica who gave him a smile that made him shiver to the bones. “Um… I, uh… I think…”

“You can’t get someone’s consent when he’s under duress.” Harvey stepped in.

“I’m not pointing a gun at him, Harvey.”

“Let’s not play dumb, shall we? Mike works for you. That means he’s under duress.”

Jessica’s smile got wider as Harvey got more irritated. Harvey always entertained her nicely outside the court. “Fine. You either take Mike or the picture. You can’t take both. Your choice.”

‘Okay… I really don’t want to lose to an embarrassing picture.’ Mike thought as he looked at Harvey with pleading eyes.

‘But if he chooses me, everyone who comes into this office will see that picture!’ Mike looked away and focused on drinking his tea.

“Gather your things, Mike. We’re leaving.” Mike’s eyes shot up at Harvey who had got up from the couch.

“Listen, Jessica. I’m taking Mike because he worked overtime under your orders last night at the party. I think that roughly covers two hours and a half. I’m also taking the picture because it’s a matter of violated portrait rights. If you have a problem with that, sue me. But I’ll be kind and let you keep the frame.” Harvey pulled the picture out of the frame and put the picture in his breast pocket.

“Come on, Mike.” Harvey turned around and headed to the door.

“Uh, it was an honor to work with you, Miss Pearson.” Mike said politely and followed his boss out of the office.

As soon as the two left, Jessica sent Norma a text message: _They acted fine but H looked a little painful when he saw the picture._

She had no idea that the only reason Harvey had looked painful was because he couldn’t reenact the scene in the picture right then and there.

 

Mike was back in his sweet cubicle, trying to focus on work. He was grateful that it was a slow day for once because he was having a hard time concentrating.

‘Let’s not forget that there are security cameras watching me.’ He told himself as he flipped another page.

Acting as if he hadn’t spent a hot, wet night with his amazing boss was hard enough but having to watch his colleagues like a hawk was even worse. His observations had been fruitless for the past two hours. Harold had been sniffing all morning but he and Harvey already knew that he was a part of the H&M organization. Rachel had come by and had asked him why he looked so frustrated but Mike couldn’t tell if she was a member or if she was being a good friend. Gregory gave him weird looks every once in a while but he had done that ever since Mike had hugged him while he was high.

‘Gosh, I really suck as a spy.’

Mike remembered how his corporate spy incident had turned out. If Harvey hadn’t bribed the security guard, he might have been in jail by now.

‘Oh, how he cares about me dearly.’

Mike frowned in an effort to mask the smile that was close to breaking on his face. He hadn’t cracked a silly smile for two full hours and he wasn’t going to blow it now.

‘I need to maintain my cover all day! Ah, it would be so much easier if I had a private office like Harvey. Hmm, I wonder what he’s doing right now. Is he thinking about me? Is he planning what he’s going to do to me tonight? Oh, I hope it involves lots of tongue. God, he moves his tongue so well! Okay, that’s enough. I really have to focus on work.’

Mike couldn’t wait for the day to be over. He already missed Harvey and not being able to show him affection when they worked in the same firm almost felt like torture.

 _Bleep._

The sound of a text message coming in brought him out of his thoughts. It was Harvey.

 _Come to my office with a file in your hand. Delete this message._

Mike had to dive to the desk to stop the cameras from catching him beam. ‘Poker face! Where’s my poker face?’

He took a deep breath before sitting up straight. Then he deleted the message and grabbed the file that he was working on.

‘I cannot smile at him. Even if he looks drop dead gorgeous. I need to look fierce! I think I can do that.’

Mike put on his game face and stood up. He marched down the hall, ignoring the stares that he was getting. When Harvey’s office came into sight, the first thing that he noticed was that the blinds had been pulled down. ‘Oh, that cheater!! I’m surrounded by security cameras in a fairly open area and he gets to enjoy that much privacy?! Not fair!’

He stomped louder and saw that Donna was looking at him with a worried face.

“Are you okay?” She asked in such a soft tone that Mike almost nodded.

“I’ve seen better days.” He added a long sigh to his already stellar performance. He was nervous to act in front of someone who ‘embodied’ her characters but Donna seemed to be buying his act.

“What happened? He yelled at you?”

Mike shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s like my soul hurts.” He had to hide his face in the file to avoid bursting out in laughter.

“Mike, let me know what happened so I can help you out. You know I care about both of you.” Donna looked into Mike’s eyes and Mike felt his heart swell with gratitude. He was lucky to have someone like her in his life. Donna wasn’t just his boss’ secretary; she was a lighthouse when he needed guidance. She was the voice of reason even for Harvey and Mike had so much respect for the woman. But he couldn’t cave in, not today.

“I’m sorry. Harvey’s expecting me.”

Donna nodded with a sympathetic face. “Go ahead. But be careful. He’s had the blinds down ever since he got you out of Jessica’s office.”

Mike smiled faintly and hurried into the office.

“You wanted to see me?” He asked, trying his best not to sound excited.

Harvey pointed at the intercom, telling him that it was on. “Yes, come sit.”

Donna might think that Harvey gestured at a chair or the couch but he actually gestured at his lap. Mike gladly walked up to his boss and sat down on the warm lap, wrapping his arms around the neck that he had missed so much. They had already talked about this scene in the morning. Whatever they said, they were supposed to understand it in the opposite way.

“Give me that file.” Harvey said even though he couldn’t care less about it. His hands were busy running up and down Mike’s back.

“Here.” Mike answered as he closed his eyes and breathed in Harvey’s scent. He couldn’t help but place a small kiss on the side of Harvey’s neck.

Harvey made a small noise from the back of his throat and flipped a few pages of the file that he had been reading. “You call this work?”

Mike bit his tongue not to laugh. Harvey was a wonderful actor. Now it was his turn to impress.

“What’s wrong with it? You know I always do my best.” He said in a frustrated voice.

Harvey flipped several pages as loudly as he could. “I expect more from you, Mike. I thought you had an eye for details but what is this? This is poor work. Just by looking like this, I can see that you’ve missed things you shouldn’t have. If you can’t do your job properly, let me know.”

Mike thought that if the circumstances had been different, he would have been deeply hurt by those words. But Harvey was quick to press his lips against his to let him know that he didn’t mean it one bit.

“Gosh, Harvey, you’re such a jerk.” Mike spat out when he really meant that Harvey was a prince among men.

“What did you just say to me?” Harvey snapped as his hands caressed Mike’s face and neck.

“I’m sorry if I disappointed you but I can’t really focus on work after what happened last night.” Mike remembered his line well.

Harvey felt as if he could see Donna prick up her ears. “I think we agreed not to talk about last night. And, work is work, Mike. If you can’t deliver, I can always find someone to replace you.”

“I’m not a robot, Harvey. I’ll fix my damn mistakes but you can’t expect me to be on top of my game every single day.” Mike said in his most dangerous voice as he played with Harvey’s silk tie.

“You don’t get to tell me what not to expect. In case you forgot, you’re working in a highly competitive law firm. With that kind of an attitude, I guarantee you that you won’t last another year.” Harvey gave his associate a deep kiss.

Mike had to bite back his moans as he melted all over Harvey.

“I _hate_ you.” He reluctantly got up from Harvey’s lap and kissed the top of his head.

“I don’t care about your feelings, Ross. Go back and get this done properly. I can always send you back to Jessica if I want to.”

Mike hissed as he walked away from the desk, “For God’s sake, what’s wrong with you? I’m not an object you can just throw around! First you bet me and now you threaten to send me back because I made some small mistakes?”

Harvey slammed his fist on his desk, winking at Mike. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m your boss. That means you do what I tell you when I tell you to do it. If you have a problem with that, you should go work for Luthor.”

“God, Harvey, what is with you and Lex? Are you jealous because he looks more handsome than you?” Mike barely managed to not crack up. It was a good thing that he was able to cover his mouth with his hands in time.

“I don’t have time for this.” Harvey knew that Mike wouldn’t last long. He had to send him out immediately.

“Oh, you don’t have time to chat with your useless associate? Is that it?” Mike playfully stuck out his tongue while keeping his voice hysterical. Geez, he was so proud of himself.

“Get out of here. You’ve already wasted enough of my time. One more minute and I’ll start charging you.” Harvey handed Mike the file that he had brought with him and when Mike reached out to grab it, he placed a kiss on his hand.

Mike shook his head and said in a sad voice, “I can’t believe I once thought that you actually had a big heart hidden somewhere.”

“Get out, Ross. I _will_ start charging you. You know you can’t afford my billables.”

“You don’t have to remind me that so often. I know how much Mr. Harvey Fucking Great Specter earns an hour. I have a perfect memory, remember?” Mike blew Harvey a kiss as he approached the door.

“This is your last warning. Get out _now_.” Harvey looked at Mike with so much affection on his face that Mike had to run out of the office with his face hidden behind the file, pretending to sob.

 

Mike was hiding in the men’s room after fleeing from Harvey’s office. The restroom was one of the few places that didn’t have security cameras and where he could enjoy a good laughter without raising suspicion.

“Ahahaha…” He was inside one of the stalls, leaning against the door. Jessica had the restrooms renovated only a month ago so Mike had no problem staying in the men’s room for longer than usual.

‘Oh, this is definitely one of the best workdays I’ve ever had, ahaha… Poor Donna. She must’ve been so shocked at Harvey and me arguing like that!’

He felt a little guilty and sorry to whomever was behind the H&M club but it was exciting to act like spies with Harvey. It felt like it was him and Harvey against the world.

‘So I _really_ like the idea of me and Harvey being a team, don’t I?’

He had no idea for how long Harvey wanted to get this act going but so far he didn’t have any complaints. He wasn’t sure how long he would last without convulsing with laughter but he liked the sense of adventure and thrill.

So he gleefully erupted into yet another fit of laughter, “Hahaha…” until he heard the door to the men’s room open, “ha… boo hoo hoo…”

Harold stopped dead in his tracks as he strained his ears. Someone was crying in one of the stalls. The person was now sniffing softly and Harold found himself walking towards the locked stall.

 _Knock-knock._

“Excuse me. I know it’s none of my business but are you all right in there? Would you like a Kleenex, maybe?”

Mike smiled at his colleague’s offer. Harold could be kind like that. Then he lowered his voice and spoke weakly, “It’s okay. I’ll be all right…”

“Oh my god, Mike? Is that you?”

The smile left Mike’s face. Harold sounded genuinely worried. “Yes, it’s me.”

“What’s wrong? You know you can talk to me. Did Harvey say something mean?”

Mike could hear anger in Harold’s voice. He was touched, given how Harold pretty much worshipped Harvey.

“Yes, he… he told me that I’m… I… Never mind, Harold. I’m sure I’m just being a drama queen…” Mike thought that he was getting better at acting. Once this was all over, he would very much like to ask Donna’s opinion on the matter.

Harold clenched his fists and spoke gravely, “Wait here. I’ll get him to apologize to you.”

Mike’s jaw dropped. What did his cubicle neighbor just say? “Excuse me?”

“I’ll get Harvey to apologize. I can’t believe someone would make you cry!”

Harold stomped out of the men’s room before Mike could stop him.

“Harold! Come back here!” He shot out of the stall but Harold was already gone.

‘Why do I feel like things are getting out of hand…? I didn’t mean to upset him that much.’ Mike scratched the back of his head, wondering if he should lock himself inside the stall again until Harvey arrived.

‘Is he really going to march into Harvey’s office and demand that he apologize to me? Gosh, I need to see that.’ Mike pondered if there was any way for him to witness Harold’s courageous action and get back to the men’s room in time but he was reminded that there were cameras following him everywhere.

‘Damn, I forgot to tell Harvey about those cameras! He shouldn’t have asked me all that while blowing me! They probably follow him around too but he barely leaves the office so maybe he hasn’t noticed. I’ll tell him tonight.’ He sighed and went back into the stall.

 

Meanwhile, Harvey was dealing with three disgruntled people in his office. Jessica had stormed into the office as soon as Donna had told her about Mike and his ‘argument’, lecturing him about how to treat a subordinate. Then Donna had knocked on the door with the Harold kid stuck to her back like a toddler, telling him that Mike was crying in the men’s room.

“What do you want me to do about it? It’s a free country. He can cry if he wants.” Harvey had offered all three of them to take a seat but they had preferred to stand.

Jessica had a stern look on her face. “Harvey, you should know that we can set up a seminar for partners like you. Louis has trouble handling his subordinates too so I think it could be a nice occasion. I happen to know a very experienced…”

Harvey groaned as he tuned out. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to get stuck in a conference room with Louis and a counselor and listen to how he should respect his associate.

‘I _love_ my associate. Disrespect is not an issue here.’ Then he realized what he had just thought. ‘Love…? Really? Do I love him?’

Harvey waited for himself to freak out but it didn’t happen. ‘Hmm, interesting.’

“Harvey!” Donna’s sharp voice brought him back to reality.

“What do you want, Donna?” Harvey almost whined. He wanted to be left in peace so that he could look at the picture that he had confiscated from Jessica’s office.

“Didn’t you listen to what we said? We want you to apologize to Mike! Come on, I’m sure you owe him that much.”

“Yes! Please go apologize, Mr. Specter. Mike will really appreciate it...” Harold said politely, his knees shaking. Harvey was so intimidating and sexy at the same time.

Harvey thought about it. It was a good idea actually. He would get to see Mike in a private space where he could touch and kiss him, letting him know how much he liked… or maybe even loved him.

“Fine. Where is he?” Harvey got up slowly, pretending to be reluctant.

Harold gave him the exact location while hanging on to Donna’s arm. Harvey nodded and shooed everyone out of the office before straightening his clothes. If he really loved Mike, he would like Mike to love him back and he couldn’t think of a better start than to look marvelous in his favorite suit.

 

“Mike? You’re in there?” Harvey asked as he locked the door to the men’s room. There were plenty of other restrooms on the floor if anyone needed to use them.

“Yes, I am…” Mike was still trying to embody the frustration and sorrow.

“You can drop the act. This place isn’t soundproof but pretty close to that.” Harvey leaned against the wall and loosened his tie as he listened to Mike come out of the stall.

“Oh, I missed you, Harvey.” Mike jumped into Harvey’s arms and nuzzled his cheek.

“Missed you too, puppy.” Harvey pulled his associate closer and covered Mike’s lips with his own.

The kiss was slow but satisfying. It felt good to be in each other’s arms while sharing an affectionate connection. Mike had almost moaned in happiness when he heard someone yell outside the door.

“I thought you said this place was close to a soundproof room.” Mike broke the kiss and strained his ears but he couldn’t hear anything else. It had gone quiet.

Harvey immediately grew suspicious and chose to whisper in Mike’s ear, “I suggest we get back on the horse. We can never be too careful.”

Mike smiled and nodded. Earlier in Harvey’s office, he had found it hot to yell at his boss while touching him affectionately. So he loosened Harvey’s tie even more and pouted, “I thought you came here to apologize.”

“Apologize? I’ll only apologize if you pay attention to my lecture.” Harvey started to fondle Mike’s ass.

“A lecture? Again? How many lectures do you feel like giving in under twenty four hours?!” Mike had unbuttoned the top of Harvey’s shirt so that he could touch his neck without the collar getting in the way.

“Listen to me, you ungrateful brat. I lecture you because I think you need one…” Harvey couldn’t quite maintain his angry tone at the end because Mike had just sunk to his knees.

He looked down at Mike who was taking off his belt. ‘What are you trying to do?’ Harvey asked with his eyes.

Mike licked his lips and Harvey shook his head before leaning down to whisper, “Mike, don’t do this. It’s a terrible idea.”

“But I want to.” Mike whispered back.

Harvey felt his body getting highly interested but he wasn’t going to go for it at work. “Do you even know what to do?” He shouldn’t be asking such a question because he was going to refuse politely and get the kid back up on his feet but he was curious.

“I’ve paid attention when you gave me one this morning.” Mike’s proud smile made Harvey swallow hard. How he wanted Mike’s pretty mouth to do filthy things for him…

On the other side of the door, the fight had finally come to an end. Several fan club members had been fighting over who got to use the stethoscope on the door to listen to what was going on in the men’s room. The shout that Mike had heard belonged to Nusaiba, the company nurse, who had made it clear that the stethoscope was hers. Norma, Rachel, Harold, and Gregory narrowed their eyes at her but kept their mouths shut so that she could listen carefully.

“So? What’s going on?” Harold asked impatiently.

“Shh… I think Harvey’s lecturing him. About how an associate should listen to his boss.”

“I thought he was going to apologize!” Gregory couldn’t handle the frustration.

“He’s saying that an associate should open his mouth only when he’s allowed to, that he’s supposed to breathe through his nose.”

“What?” Norma frowned but soon understood what Harvey meant. “Ah, because his mouth is closed.”

“Oh, this can’t be good.” The nurse frowned and everyone’s eyes grew wide. “I think I should check Harvey’s blood pressure when he comes out. He sounds weird… a little painful.”

“Painful?” Rachel knitted her brows. “Well, I guess lecturing someone you care about can be painful.”

“What is Mike saying?” Harold asked, twisting his fingers.

Nusaiba answered, “He’s quiet obviously, probably breathing through his nose. Oh, now Harvey’s saying that an associate should look his boss in the eyes while he’s talking, that he should take and swallow what he gives him. And, ouch… I think Harvey may have slammed his fist into the wall. I heard a thud.”

The blood drained from everyone’s face.

“I can hear Mike whimper. I have a feeling that the situation might be much worse than we thought.” The nurse was getting sad. “And, Harvey slammed his fist again.”

“Oh no, what are we going to do?” Rachel paled.

Just when Norma was about to tell the members to have faith, the door to the men’s room flew open. Everyone stared at Mike who looked disheveled; his hair was messed up, his lips were painfully red (it looked like he had bitten them while getting lectured), and he even had little tears in his eyes.

“Excuse me.”

Mike managed to pass the alarmed crowd without falling to his knees in a hysterical laughter. Harvey would need a moment to recover and god, he felt great about himself.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The day obviously continues to the next chapter :) I'm optimistic that I'll get it updated before 2012 comes :D Thank you so much for the encouraging comments and kudos you leave me <3


	15. Marvey versus The Marveyed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, two chapters for today! :D Because the day continues to the next chapter… again! I cannot believe how many words I need to describe a single day at the office XD This chapter is more like the calm before the storm :)

  
Mike was back in his cubicle after causing panic in front of the men’s room. He had kept his head down until he was positive that he wouldn’t giggle his brains out. ‘So Rachel, Norma, Gregory, and the company nurse are involved too? Gosh, Louis will flip so badly if he finds out that his secretary wishes Harvey to be happy.’

Mike thought about what he had exactly seen after leaving the men’s room. He remembered the shocked and horrified looks on his coworkers’ faces but he was missing something. ‘Oh, right. What was the nurse hiding behind her? Some kind of an eavesdropping device? I mean, they already looked pretty damaged before they even saw me.’

He clearly remembered how Rachel had looked like a terrified rabbit when he had opened the door and how the look only got worse as she studied his face. They must have had some kind of an idea about what was going on between Harvey and him even before he left the men’s room. ‘But this is a law firm. What kind of a device could have they possibly used?’

Then Mike remembered the day when the nurse had listened to Harvey’s breathing with a stethoscope. ‘Oh seriously… Are they serious?’

Mike shuddered, suddenly realizing that he and Harvey were up against a group that seemed to be highly dedicated. ‘I should tell Harvey about this.’

They were supposed to have lunch with a client at half past noon. Mike always enjoyed following his boss to client meetings but he had never looked forward to it more than today. He could really use some time outside the firm and get the suppressed laughter out of his system.

‘And, I need to kiss him badly.’ Mike was about to daydream about Harvey’s perfect lips when he heard a sniff.

‘Oh no, he’s crying again.’ He looked to his left and saw Harold clutching a Kleenex in one hand and a picture in the other one. Mike craned his neck to take a look at the picture and recognized Harvey’s face. It looked like it was taken during their calendar photo shoot.

‘I thought the calendar was coming out next week! Where did he get that? Did Abby leak it?’ He stuck out his neck further to get a better look at Harvey’s half-naked form.

‘Uh, why is the surface of the picture all… greasy? Oh god, he kissed it?’ Mike didn’t know if he found it gross or hilarious. He just knew that Harvey couldn’t find out about it or Harold would be hanging from the window on the twenty-eighth floor.

 _Sniff._

Mike felt a pang of guilt at the sad scene in front of him. ‘Did we go too far? But I live with cameras following me all day! They should suck it up!’

Then he saw Harold tear the picture to pieces and throw it in the waste basket. As someone who also worshiped Harvey Specter, it didn’t feel right to have pushed Harold to such a state. ‘Perhaps we did go too far. We almost sank to their level! Maybe I should tell Harvey to consider ending this by the end of the day.’

Mike believed that a prank should stay as a prank. They were not children who didn’t know where to draw the line. Besides, he was quite curious about what other H&M products that Donna had made. He would like to have a Harvey mug if possible but he couldn’t ask for a mug when they were at war. ‘Let’s worry about that later. I actually have to get some work done.’

As planned, he gathered all the documents that he needed and got up. He could see both Gregory and Harold eyeing him with alarm. ‘Sorry, boys. I need to look really pissed off so I’m going to go work in an empty conference room.’

Hoping that his colleagues didn’t know how to read minds, Mike hurried away from the associates’ area.

 

Word spread in a matter of minutes throughout the fan club that Mike had moved to a deserted conference room. Everyone remembered how Mike had once worked in a conference room to keep his distance from Harvey after kissing him in his office. The consensus was that it was time to try a different approach and that was why Rachel was knocking on Harvey’s office.

“Come in.” Harvey looked up from the papers, expecting Donna’s glaring eyes.

“Good morning, Mr. Specter. I was hoping that I could speak with you. If you’d allow me, I’d like to borrow five minutes of your time.” Rachel gave him her best pleading look.

Harvey looked at her for a split second and nodded, “Take a seat, Miss Zane.”

“Thank you.” Rachel sat in one of the two chairs in front of Harvey’s desk.

“So what can I do for you?” Harvey asked.

“It’s about Mike…”

“What about him?” Harvey wondered if Mike had taken the act too far and had done something reckless.

Rachel took a deep breath and spoke with all her heart, “He’s working in a conference room, looking really hurt. You might know that he and I are good friends, Mr. Specter. So believe me when I tell you that he always gushes about you. When he speaks about you, there’s always so much excitement and adoration in his eyes… so much that you have to envy the person who makes him act like that.”

Harvey had to force himself not to smile smugly.

“He hangs on to every single word that leaves your mouth. He remembers all the compliments and all the disappointing comments you’ve ever given him. He does that not only because he has a brilliant memory but also because you’re such a great force in his world. He gathers strength and hope from you. He learns joy and pain through you. And, right now, I bet he’s beating himself up more than he should for upsetting you. I don’t know what happened last night or what kind of a mistake he made today but please… give him another chance. You’re probably the one good thing that has happened to him ever since his parents had passed away. I’m not trying to appeal to your sympathy but please don’t take away the light from him. You of all people should know how wonderful he is when he lights up the room.”

Rachel didn’t care if she sounded like she was begging. For her, it wasn’t about the fan club anymore. Mike had gone out of his way to help her in so many occasions and she considered him a special friend of hers. Having a little chat with Harvey –no matter how intimidating he might be- was nothing, compared to what Mike had done for her. The thought of Mike getting rejected by someone he looked up to made her sick and although she didn’t believe that Harvey and Mike had an argument that would damage their bond, she was still worried that it would trample on the sprout of their young love.

Harvey couldn’t tell if she was talking about work or love. It didn’t matter though; he himself wasn’t sure where the line was drawn between their working relationship and their personal one. Harvey was actually impressed at Harold and Rachel stepping up for his associate. The kid had made some useful allies in the world where deception and laughing at others’ misery were common practice.

“Is that all?” Harvey asked and saw Rachel inhale sharply. So he added, “I’ll talk to him at lunch.”

Rachel breathed out a sigh of relief and stood up. “Thank you, Mr. Specter. Thank you for your time.”

“You’d make a nice lawyer, Miss Zane. With a little training, you could sway the jury.” Harvey smiled a little.

Rachel immediately brightened up which reminded Harvey of Mike. He could detect a certain similarity between the two friends.

“That means a lot, coming from you, Mr. Specter.” Rachel hesitated as if she wanted to say a few more words but decided against it and left the office. She thought that she had said just enough. The rest was up to Harvey now.

 

Meanwhile, Donna was in the conference room with Mike, trying to achieve the same goal. She held Mike’s left hand in hers as she calmly talked to him.

“You know he didn’t mean any of it. You should know by now that you must treat him like an invalid when it comes to emotions.”

Mike laughed a little at Donna’s choice of words. He was aware that he should look horribly hurt but it was difficult when Donna was being so affectionate. He just wanted to let her pat him on the head and give him a piece of candy.

“Mike, do you know how I judge a man’s character?”

“No.” Mike looked at her with curious eyes.

“Not by how he treats his equals but by how he treats the underlings, the lowest rungs on the ladder.”

“Okay…” Mike wasn’t sure where this was heading.

“Harvey usually impresses me in that regard. He treats me and Ray very well. I assure you we haven’t been mistreated even once during all these years. He doesn’t look down on us. So whatever he said to you last night or today, it was an honest mistake. I hope you have it in you to forgive him just this once. _Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus_.”

Mike was impressed. “Even good Homer sometimes nods.”

“Exactly. It won’t happen again.”

Donna gave Mike’s hand a gentle squeeze, relieved that her brain didn’t get a cramp from memorizing a chunk of Latin. She had thought that it would be a nice way to get the message across to the smart brain of Mike’s and it looked like it might be working; the kid looked pensive.

“Do you remember when Harvey got mad at me for saving him from that bastard Cameron Dennis?” It was time for another story.

“Sure. You went to Jessica for help and Harvey thought that you went behind his back.”

“Yeah. I love that man but he doesn’t know how to apologize. It took him a lot to say sorry to me that day, so I imagine he’s feeling guilty like hell right now but just can’t bring himself to apologize. So if you could the greater man here and forgive him, it would be much easier for him to breathe.”

Mike smiled. “Harvey’s lucky to have you.”

Donna pinched his cheek. “You’re lucky to have me too.”

“That’s true.” Mike felt better even when he hadn’t been sad in the first place. Donna knew how to console people.

“Now you’re going to follow Harvey to that lunch meeting and bring me back a delicious apple pie. Do you think you could manage that?” Donna stood up with a bright smile on her face.

“So you’re going to follow Harvey to that lunch meeting later and bring me back a delicious apple pie. Do you think you could manage that?” Donna stood up with a bright smile on her face.

Mike’s smile matched hers and he nodded. “You can count on me.”

Donna nodded her thanks and left the conference room. Perhaps things would look better once the boys came back from lunch. It was time to wait and observe.

 

“Phew…” Mike let out a sigh of relief as he and Harvey walked out of the hotel restaurant. The lunch meeting had gone smoothly and Mike was grateful that it had ended earlier than he had expected. It was a difficult day to focus on work.

“Where are you going?” Harvey asked as Mike turned towards the front door.

“Back to the office?” Mike asked with a question mark on his face.

“We’re going upstairs. I booked us a room.” Harvey headed over to the front desk without any further explanations.

“What? Why? We can do that?” Mike looked at his watch. It was only two o’clock.

‘Ooh, I think I know why.’ Mike cackled while Harvey checked in. It felt so bad-ass to do dirty things with his ‘boss’ instead of going straight back to the office.

When Harvey gestured at the elevator with his chin, Mike quickly caught up with him and grinned. “Don’t get me wrong, Harvey, because I don’t mind it at all but are you sure you’re _up_ for this? You came three times in less than fourteen hours.”

Harvey pressed the button to the elevator. “So did you.”

“I don’t mean to gloat but I’m ten years younger.”

Harvey snorted. “That means I have ten more years of experience in this area.”

“That’s a good counter-argument.” Mike admitted with a chuckle.

“Thanks. But that’s not what we’re here for.” They got in the elevator.

“It’s not? Ooh, then we’re here to do more evil plotting!”

“Nope.”

“Nope? Hmm… what else could we possibly do?”

Harvey didn’t answer and kept his eyes on the number going up.

“You’re going to keep me guessing, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

Harvey looked rather cheerful in Mike’s eyes. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one that was happy to be outside the office. They got out of the elevator on the seventh floor and Mike watched Harvey elegantly open the door to their room.

“Oh, I know. You want to take a shower! My blowjob left you all sweaty, huh? But I thought there was a shower in the partners’ restroom.” Mike looked around the surprisingly cozy room.

“There is. Now take off your clothes and get on the bed.” Harvey took off his jacket and shoes.

“Harvey, that sounds like we’re going to have sex... unless we’re here to entertain a kinky client.” Mike got rid of his jacket.

“Relax. You should know after last night that I absolutely hate to share.” Harvey worked on his tie and socks.

“You do?” Mike beamed so hard that Harvey worried that his face might crack.

“Will you zip that pretty mouth and get under the covers already?” Harvey was down to his boxers, handling his phone.

“I can do that.” Mike stripped down to his boxers as well. Then he climbed under the covers and saw Harvey join him.

“Now come closer and close your eyes.” Harvey opened his arms and finally told his associate what this was about. “We’re going to take a nap, puppy. We didn’t get much sleep last night and today has been hard on us.”

Now that Harvey mentioned sleep, Mike couldn’t stifle a yawn. “I could definitely use some sleep. Thanks, Harvey.”

Harvey smiled and placed a kiss on Mike’s forehead. “You’re welcome. We have about an hour. Are you comfortable?”

Mike laughed. “Are you kidding me? I’m in a five-star hotel, lying in your arms! It can’t get much better than this!” Then he launched himself forward and pinned down Harvey’s head to give him a proper ‘thank you’ kiss.

Harvey let out a small groan that didn’t sound pleasant and Mike pulled back in a hurry. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Harvey rubbed the back of his head and Mike couldn’t help but giggle victoriously.

“My blowjob was that good! I knew it looked dangerous when you threw your head against the wall twice!”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Harvey mumbled and kissed his associate so that he would stop gloating in poor taste.

“Uh, did you bribe someone at the front desk? You know, in case Donna tries to track us down.” Mike yawned again, an arm thrown around Harvey’s chest.

“I’m offended that you felt the need to ask.” Harvey kissed him one last time before closing his eyes.

It only took Mike two more yawns to fall asleep. Harvey was sleepy too but he wanted to conduct a little experiment before giving in to the temptation of blissful sleep. He took a good look at Mike’s peaceful face and realized that the kid’s emotions were contagious. Just by looking at his face, Harvey could feel his heartbeat slow down to a relaxed state.

‘Let’s get this over with.’

He pulled Mike closer to his chest and whispered in his ear, “I love you, Mike.”

It sounded a little strange but it felt all right. ‘What exactly am I supposed to feel here?’

All this time, he had assumed that love made someone weak but he felt quite powerful right now. ‘Perhaps I didn’t say it properly.’

So he tried again, “Love you, puppy.”

Harvey’s heart stopped when Mike stirred. ‘Did he hear it?!’

He waited a few seconds, not even bothering to breathe. When Mike didn’t wake up and threw a leg around his, Harvey let air into his system again. He took it as a good sign that Mike hadn’t turned around. He believed in the power of subconscious and it looked like Mike’s subconscious had no problem with his love confession. With an armful of a warm puppy and the satisfaction that the experiment had gone all right, Harvey fell asleep in a matter of seconds.  



	16. Love or die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the previous chapter as well so please make sure you check out that one before you read this one :) And, I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Thanks to you guys, I’m having so much fun here :D May we all be healthy, happy, and have even more fun next year =D
> 
> Last but not least, perhaps I should warn about the filthy minds of the fan club members. (Some lines might be _rated M_.) It took a lot to write this one so I hope it could be a nice year-ending/year-starting gift  <3

  
**Step 9: Love or die** (Project ‘reality survival show’)

It was four o’clock in the afternoon, the time when usually Pearson-Hardman employees dozed off or enjoyed an unhealthy snack. But today was different and there was so much tension in the IT department that made Benjamin extremely nervous.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” He said as he looked at the security feeds of the elevators. They were waiting for Harvey and Mike to come back from their client meeting.

“You think Rachel and I failed to talk some sense into our boys?” Donna’s tone was sharp.

“No! It’s not that.” Benjamin denied in a hurry. “It’s just that… I don’t know. I’m told that I have a sixth sense and that sense tells me that things are still wrong.”

“For the nth time, please have some faith.” Norma gritted her teeth. Sometimes her flock of sheep was so weak.

“If we had faith, we probably wouldn’t be standing by with the plan that was supposed to be our last resort.” Rachel explained quietly.

“We’re just trying to make the most of the situation. This might be the last time of the day when they ride in the same elevator.” Norma believed that they could never be too prepared.

“Am I the only one who thinks that locking them up in an elevator is just plain… wrong?” Harold was still upset with Harvey and the thought of Mike getting stuck in a confined space with him was worrying.

“Well, desperate time calls for desperate measures.” Lex voiced his opinion.

“Oh, right there. They’re getting into that one.” Rachel pointed at one of the screens and everyone watched anxiously to see how Marvey was doing. Unfortunately they couldn’t listen to the dialogue but it was clear from the body languages that the two were not being lovey-dovey at all. There was a frown on Harvey’s forehead and Mike had his pouty lips ready to snap back at Harvey at his earliest convenience.

“Okay, guys, we’ve seen enough. The plan is a go!” Norma announced. “Stop the elevator and get Gregory down now!”

Benjamin stopped the elevator and everyone else worked on getting Gregory down the elevator shaft, wishing him luck.

With a rope attached to his waist and a sack for Marvey on his back, Gregory let his comrades lower him down the shaft. He could almost hear the theme song of ‘Mission Impossible’ blast out from above.

‘Oh my god! This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life! I feel like a spy on a super important mission! Eat your heart out, Tom Cruise! I look way better than you!’

Gregory enjoyed his spy activity until he landed with a loud thud. ‘Ouch, my good looking face...’

Inside the elevator, Mike shrieked at the huge thud. He glanced at Harvey and asked, “Do you think this is also…?”

“Yes. Speak with your hand over your mouth or look away from the camera. They can’t hear us unless we press the button but Donna knows how to read lips.”

“Oh, if that's the case, I could always try ventriloquism.” Mike suggested as he turned away from the camera.

“Really?” Harvey wanted to roll his eyes.

“Yeah! Let me show you.”

Mike gritted his teeth and talked without moving his lips. “Harvey, how am I doing?”

“You sound like an idiot.”

“You’re lying. You think I’m doing an amazing job but you’re afraid to admit it.”

Harvey didn’t have time to answer because the ceiling of the elevator had just opened and a sack had been dropped right in front of his feet.

When Mike read the words ‘survival package’ on the sack and saw Harvey’s dumbfounded face, he couldn’t hold it together anymore. So he quickly took off his jacket, threw it over his head, and let it go.

“Hahahaha… Please tell me I can laugh, Harvey, ahahaha…”

“Why, go ahead and laugh, Mike.” Harvey said in a mocking tone. He didn’t understand what could be so hilarious. “You’re supposed to be furious. How far are they willing to take this? Who do they think they’re dealing with? As soon as I’m out of here, I’m going to sue their gigantic asses!”

“Ahahaha… Oh my stomach hurts… I’m dying here! Hahaha…” Harvey’s sulkiness only served as fuel.

Harvey let out a disapproving groan. How dare they cage him in a metallic box with a laughing mess? He ignored his dying associate and opened the sack. He found a neatly typed memo which read: _No love, no exit_. The idea of tracing the ink and paper came to his mind, but the paper looked like the standard printing paper that could be found anywhere in the office and Harvey imagined that the ink wouldn’t serve as a lead either.

“Take a look at this.” Harvey shoved the memo under his associate’s jacket.

Mike’s head poked out and he ventriloquized again, “Do you think they mean it? What exactly do they want us to do? Kiss?”

Harvey felt a bad headache coming his way. “Could you drop the stupid ventriloquism already?”

“It’s easy for you to say when you’re not facing the camera! Plus, ventriloquism is considered as a form of art!” Mike had always been proud of his ventriloquial skills.

“Just try to look mad, okay?” Harvey pressed his temples while Mike rummaged through the sack.

“Oh hey, they packed Skittles. I love these! Do you want some?” Mike put some in his mouth and offered to his boss.

Harvey shook his head. “Mike, are you even listening to me? You can’t drop the act just because they gave you something sweet. You’re supposed to be mad at me!”

“Nom nom, your loss.” Mike happily ate the sweets as he realized that he was no longer capable of acting as if he was pissed off. He had napped too well, wrapped around the man that he loved, and honestly, how could he be mad when he had Skittles?

Mike kept digging into the sack until he found a book. “Bwahaha… It’s Kama sutra! They can’t possibly expect us to perform in here! Oh Jesus, this is insane, ahaha…”

Harvey looked at Mike who was in stitches. The kid obviously had no sense of hygiene, rubbing his suit on the floor of the elevator. Harvey figured that, with the help of the sweets, Mike had finally lost his mind after going through an emotionally difficult week. He knew that he was asking a lot from his associate today when he was aware that Mike was the type of person who was virtually unable to hide his feelings.

“Oh Harvey, hahaha… You’ve got to read the instructions here, ahaha…”

“I have no idea what’s so hilarious but I’m glad you’re enjoying our misery.” Sarcasm dripped from Harvey’s voice.

Mike was too caught up in the wonders of the world’s oldest sex textbook so Harvey squatted to carry on with his associate’s work. The contents of the sack were as followed: two bottles of water, two empty water bottles (he didn’t even want to think what they were for), energy bars, a huge blanket, a plastic bag, a tube of lube, several condoms (all different in terms of flavor, color, and size), a pair of cuffs (they gave him a nice idea regarding Mike and his glass elevator), crackers, tangerines, apples, bananas, two pairs of briefs, and a towel.

Harvey had to admit that it was a comprehensive package, but it didn’t make him feel any better for getting stuck in the elevator while being watched. He stood up and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He had to figure out how to get out of the elevator without giving Jessica and her crew what they wanted. On their way back to the office, inside the cab, Mike had filled him in on the additional members of the H&M club who had been outside the men’s room. The name ‘Norma’ was particularly interesting to Harvey because she had always given him the creeps. To think that she had been trying to manipulate him gave him even more creeps.

‘Well, at least I could gloat about it in front of Louis. I don’t think he could handle the fact that both of our secretaries love me and only me.’

“Harvey, look at this. Do you think this is humanly possible? Have you ever tried it?” Mike asked with his mouth full of Skittles as he pointed at a detailed illustration.

“Keep your thoughts to yourself, Mike. I’m trying to think here.” Harvey closed his eyes to concentrate. He had to come up with a useful idea before Mike blew the whole thing.

‘Let’s think about it as a case. What do I do when I have a major disadvantage? Yes, I level the playing field first. If I can’t see what the opposing counsel is doing, it should be the same for him.’

“Mike, I need to pick your brain. We have to take out their eyes.” Harvey gently kicked Mike’s leg to get his attention.

“Their eyes?” Mike asked back without looking away from the book. “Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?”

“I mean, we have to disable the camera.” Harvey thought about destroying the camera by hitting it repeatedly with the pair of cuffs but perhaps there was a less barbaric way to do it.

 

Meanwhile, the Marvey fan club had taken over the IT department and had turned it into their command and control center. Most of the members were gathered in the room, watching in awe as Harvey took out all the condoms from the sack.

“Oh my god! He’s choosing a condom!” Jess pointed at the screens.

“It looks like he got our message loud and clear!” Rachel exclaimed.

“Oh dear lord, did he just pick up the XL one?” Margaret asked. She couldn’t think clearly with all the excitement.

“No! He chose the biggest one! XXL!” Deb knew her condoms.

“Ah, I so knew that he’d be hung like a horse!” Jenna had always had faith in Harvey’s assets.

“But why is he choosing the semi-opaque one? There are many see-through ones, Harvey!” Stacey wasn’t too happy with Harvey’s choice.

“Well, the man wants some privacy! He doesn’t want to bare it all.” Gregory could understand.

“Is this really happening? Perhaps this is one of my many wet dreams.” Harold rubbed his eyes to see if he was going to wake up.

The screens now showed Harvey glaring darkly at the camera and tearing the condom’s packet with his teeth. The club members made all sorts of dying sounds and some of them quickly grabbed Kleenexes to take care of their drooling selves.

“No kiss or foreplay? Our Mike deserves better!” Elizabeth looked at Mike who was still lost in the book.

“Maybe he can’t wait to get inside Mike! Can we really blame him?” Abby was shameless.

“Hmm, this can’t be true.” Norma rubbed her chin. Things were going far too easily.

“I know. Harvey must be up to something.” Donna agreed but she couldn’t stop wishing for more sexiness.

Then something happened which made Donna’s big eyes even bigger. Harvey and Mike exchanged a few words and the next thing she knew, Mike got down on his hands and knees. Animalistic howls filled the room and Benjamin was glad that he was taping all this.

“Oh gosh, he’s just going to pull Mike’s pants down? Mike has only lost his jacket!” Rebecca felt light-headed.

“This is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen…” Logan watched with her mouth hung open as Harvey took off his shoes.

“I think I’m going to faint before it even begins...” Emma had trouble breathing.

“I wish I had brought a shot of adrenaline in case I pass out...” Nusaiba made a very nurse-like comment.

Members actually started to drop to the floor when Mike crawled forward under Harvey’s orders. Mike had moved too close to the corner where the camera was installed but thankfully, Benjamin knew how to adjust the angle. The newest camera even had a powerful zoom so they would be able to enjoy Marvey’s fan service in all its glorious filthiness.

“Here we go, guys!” Linda watched breathlessly as Harvey took a few steps towards his associate and put his hands on Mike’s hips to adjust his position.

“The good, old, doggie style! How fitting!” Stacey nodded approvingly.

Mike kept his head down like an obedient puppy which had some of the members sob with joy. But just when everyone thought that Harvey was going to pull down his pants and take his position behind Mike, he rather stepped on Mike’s back with the condom in hand. Before anyone realized what was happening, Harvey wore his most dangerous glare on his face and put the condom on the camera.

“Nooooo!!” Miza had never felt so robbed in her life.

“You can’t do that!!” Echo watched with sadness as she vaguely noticed a Mike-shaped lump get back on his feet. She thought that he had looked much prettier on his hands and knees.

“Why are you torturing us, Harvey?! Why??” Claire couldn’t believe that Harvey had wasted a perfectly good condom like that.

“Is that the only camera we have?” Irene asked, hoping that there would be a hidden camera somewhere inside the elevator.

“Yeah, that’s the only one we have.” Benjamin sniffed as he looked at the screen. Because of the semi-opaque condom, all they could see was two black objects moving around.

“This is torture! We can see they’ve sat down on the floor but we can’t really see what they’re doing!” Margaret wanted to crawl into a ball and cry.

“I think it’s much crueler than not being able to see anything at all.” Lex sighed. Harvey was being smart as usual.

“Maybe I can go down again and send in one of those micro-cameras.” Gregory offered.

“What micro-cameras?” Benjamin snapped. He was in a bad mood. “For the last time, we’re a law firm! We don’t own such a device!”

The whole room went quiet at Benjamin’s frustrated yell. It was surely a dark day for the Marvey fan club.

 

“Ahaha, you’re a genius, Harvey.” Mike laughed as Harvey wrapped the huge blanket around their heads.

“I must be if I want to keep a genius associate around.” Harvey kissed Mike on the lips. The kid tasted sweet.

The people on the other side of the security camera might be able to see them sit together but with the blanket covering them, they wouldn’t get to see anything else. Harvey hoped that they would think he just wanted some privacy while talking to Mike. Since Mike had giggled his mind out, he knew that they couldn’t carry on with the ‘mad at each other’ act. Even if he persuaded the kid to keep it together, Mike wouldn’t be able to do it. So they now had to move on to the act where they were struggling to talk it out.

“I feel bad for them though. I was getting into my sub character nicely. They would’ve liked it.” Mike chuckled.

“Well, you’ll get plenty of time over the weekend to get into your favorite character.” Harvey captured Mike’s earlobe between his lips and enjoyed the soft moan that left Mike’s mouth.

“Now you’ll be a good boy and get your laptop out. We’re going to visit Donna’s Facebook page.” Harvey was aware that Donna was an avid fan of Facebook. She had tried to get him to join Facebook on numerous occasions but he hadn’t been interested.

“What for? You want to leave her a scary comment?” Mike pulled his laptop out of the messenger bag and powered it up.

“Yes, but not on hers. I want to track down this fangirling group.” Harvey opened a bottle of water and took a sip.

“You think she made a fan club on Facebook?” Mike had already accessed Donna’s page. He had an account which he didn’t really use, but at least it was being useful now because Donna was one of his few Facebook friends.

“Yeah.” Harvey offered the bottle of water to Mike who shook his head and said, “Kiss me?”

Harvey smirked and poured water in his own mouth before kissing his associate.

“Thanks. Water has never tasted more delicious.” Mike smiled brightly and checked Donna’s page for any sign of the fan club.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing. Either it doesn’t exist or she uses a different account for that.” Mike pouted but then he got an idea. “Hey, I happen to know Harold’s e-mail address and password. I remember because he once showed me his favorite tattoo artist’s Facebook page.”

“Well, then get on with it. I want to do the necessary damage and get out of here already.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Mike logged in with Harold’s information and checked his recent activities. “Wait… The Marveyed? This has to be it! Mike and Harvey! Oh, it’s nice that my name comes first.” He looked at Harvey with a smug face.

“You only got one letter of your name in it. I’ve got all but one letter in it.” Harvey looked smugger.

Mike ignored his childlike boss and looked at the long list of the fan club members. “Huh… Who are these people? I thought I knew every single name that worked here.”

“You memorized the employee list?”

“Well, I _read_ it when I was trying to figure out who could’ve framed Rachel. Harvey, I don’t think some of these people even work with us.”

“You’re sure you’re not mistaken?” Harvey didn’t doubt Mike’s memory but he wanted to be sure.

“I’m sure.”

Harvey sighed and shook his head. “Unbelievable. They all need to get laid so that they wouldn’t poke their uninvited noses into other people’s love life.”

“Oh my god, isn’t Robert the dude who runs that hot dog cart in front of the building? Ahahaha… how did he end up here? Hahaha…” Mike erupted into another lethal fit of laughter.

Harvey took the laptop from what was left of his associate and typed in a comment: _Looking forward to see all of you in court._

“Stop laughing and capture everything you can. And, get me a piece of paper and a pen, will you?”

“Sure.” Mike barely managed to stop laughing and pulled out the requested material from his messenger bag.

While Mike busied himself with his laptop, Harvey wrote down messages on both sides of the paper and pulled out a chewing gum from his breast pocket. He had got it from the hotel restaurant earlier.

“Take it.” He offered it to Mike.

“Oh, thanks!” Mike unwrapped the gum and started to chew it.

“Now give it back.” Harvey held out his hand after a minute.

“What? I’m already chewing it!”

“I know, Mike. I'm not blind.” Harvey rolled his eyes. “Spit it out.”

“But why? I like the flavor!” Mike had no idea why his boss wanted a gum that someone had chewed.

Harvey sighed and grabbed Mike’s face before crushing his lips against his. His associate wasn’t cooperating so there was only one way to get the gum back.

‘Give it back already! I need it!’ Harvey was facing resistance.

‘Gosh, why on earth do you want my gum? Have you lost your mind?’ Mike was quite proud that his tongue had managed to keep the gum safe so far.

‘Oh seriously… Why are you obsessed with a piece of gum? I should’ve just chewed it myself.’ Harvey tilted his head and thrust his tongue deeper into Mike’s mouth.

‘Oh god, I don’t know why he wants this gum so badly but this kiss is hot! But hey… why are we having a civil war when we have a bunch of enemies out there?’

Mike’s slight distraction resulted in Harvey coming out on top. Harvey broke the kiss with the gum in his mouth and ordered, “Get back on your hands and knees. I’ll get you out of here.”

“Again? Why does that camera have to be stuck on the ceiling? And, why couldn’t it have been one of those which we could’ve hung a towel on it?” Mike whined but left the comfort of the blanket and moved into position.

“Good boy.” Harvey patted his puppy on the head and stood on his back to pull off the condom from the camera. Then he shoved the piece of paper towards the camera which read: _I know what you did last night but you don’t know what we did last night._

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma read the message again.

“Oh my god! Does that mean our plan actually worked?” Rachel shrieked.

“So they’ve been playing us all day?” Irene was confused.

“Then why the hell did I have to feel guilty all day?!” Lex exploded.

“We should totally celebrate!” Jenna was suddenly in a party mood.

Norma was about to address a few words to her beloved comrades when the screens showed Harvey flip the paper and stick it to the camera with a gum. The paper read: _Will hunt down The Marveyed. Might settle if you open the door in exactly twenty minutes._

The fan club went into full-blown panic mode.

“They know about us!” Rebecca felt her knees go weak. She was terrified.

“Code red! I repeat, code red!” Donna yelled.

“Do _not_ open that door until we’ve got rid of all the evidence!” Norma ordered Benjamin who was shuddering with fear.

“But why did he say _exactly_ twenty minutes? What are they going to do for twenty minutes?” Elizabeth had to ask.

“Can’t you tell?!” Deb screamed with frustration. “He’s going to use the condom for the right purpose while we cover our asses!”

Everyone except for Benjamin ran out of the room, hurrying back to their spots. They had documents to shred, products to hide, and internet histories to erase.  



	17. A weekend to remember

  
“Mmm… ehehe…”

Mike woke up at the feeling of someone tickling him. His hands instinctively flew across his belly to protect himself as he slowly opened his eyes.

“Good morning, puppy.” Harvey greeted him with a lazy smile and moved his right hand to caress Mike’s arms.

“Good morning. Why do you look so good even with bed hair?” Mike asked, wondering how awful he looked right now.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” Harvey gave his associate a sweet good morning kiss.

“Whoa, I could get used to this.” Mike said with a smile on his face.

“You did well yesterday… until you broke down in the elevator.” Harvey thought about how they had been trapped in the metallic box for over half an hour even though twenty minutes of it was purely voluntary.

“Are you talking about me laughing to tears or writhing to tears?” Mike blushed at the memories of the two of them making good use of the supplies and underwear their fan club had left them. Given how the man had an elevator inside his place, it should have been no surprise that Harvey had a thing for elevators.

Harvey grinned and reminisced about the highly entertaining elevator ride. He loved how Mike’s moans had echoed in the confined space and how efficiently he had to move to get things done in such a short time. It took skills to turn one’s partner into a moaning, sobbing mess in under twenty minutes and he was proud that he had done the job nicely. “If you’re up for it, we could always try it again in my elevator. No need to rush this time.”

Mike chuckled at the fact that he had gone from no love life to a very active one in a couple of days. “You’re lucky that I’m young and don’t need much recovery time.”

“You’re lucky that I already learned what makes you lose control of yourself.” Harvey brought a hand down to the back of Mike’s knees to prove his point.

“Harvey…” Mike immediately squirmed and put a delightful smile on Harvey’s face.

“If you’re so adamant, we could try some positions from that Kama Sutra book.” Mike suggested, running his hands over Harvey’s broad chest.

“I assume you have the whole book in your brain by now.” Harvey closed his eyes so that he could focus on the feeling of Mike’s hands on his body.

“Just the first few chapters actually. But I plan to read the rest over the weekend here where I have a willing test subject.” Mike grinned.

“Sounds like a plan. I wasn’t going to let you spend the weekend out of my sight anyway.” Harvey pulled Mike closer and kissed him thoroughly. He simply couldn’t separate himself from Mike. The thought of getting addicted to his associate should be scary but it actually made him feel like he had another good reason to live.

“Why do I feel like your kissing gets better and better?” Mike whined happily as he nuzzled Harvey’s chin.

“Because now I know what you like.” Harvey kissed the tip of Mike’s nose. Mike had a very cute nose.

“You know, I’m kinda grateful that they worked so hard to get us together. I mean… the first post on that Facebook page was over a month ago. Perhaps we should go a little easy on them…” Mike spoke softly, careful not to upset Harvey.

Harvey’s jaw stiffened. “That doesn’t change the fact that they manipulated us. They should’ve seen this coming.”

Mike pressed a kiss to the handsome jaw. “I’m not saying that what they did was right. I’m just saying that perhaps they don’t deserve such harsh punishment.”

“Think about how they drove you crazy with those security cameras, Mike. They used the firm’s resources to stalk you. I can sue them on your behalf at the very least. Hell, I should’ve sued them weeks ago.”

Mike couldn’t help but beam and kiss the man.

“What was that for?” Harvey lifted his eyebrow and caressed Mike’s cheek.

Mike shook his head and smiled. “Nothing. It just feels awesome to be your associate.”

“Oh yeah? Imagine how much better it’s going to feel when you’re my boyfriend.”

Harvey didn’t miss the bright twinkle in Mike’s eyes. He looked pleasantly surprised and happy, and it was great to know that he was the cause of it.

“I think I have to kiss you again.” Mike announced gravely.

Harvey laughed. “That can be arranged.”

“God, I’m so relieved that we don’t have to act anymore. It would’ve looked mighty suspicious if we both showed up at work with swollen lips.”

Harvey ran his hands all over Mike’s shoulders. “Then I suppose nothing’s going to stop you from kissing me all weekend.”

“You’re damn right. And, I’m going to touch you whenever I want to.”

“Whatever you want, Mike.”

Harvey let Mike entertain his mouth as he swore that he would make the people who were responsible for stalking his puppy and causing him stress pay the price dearly. He might have been in the mood to let them off lightly but they had made the mistake of messing with his associate.

“Say, Mike, what was that guy’s name, the one in charge of the IT department?” Harvey knew that Donna would have gone for the best.

“Ben? I mean, Benjamin. He hates it when someone calls him Ben.”

Harvey frowned. “You called him Ben and he didn’t like it?”

Mike nodded. “He was all ‘It’s Benjamin. I’m sure you don’t like it when people call you Mike.’ I don’t think he’s too friendly.”

Harvey gritted his teeth. The guy was as good as dead now.

 

Benjamin felt a thrill of alarm run through him. Since last evening, he had been in the safe house that Donna had provided him with (he didn’t even want to know why the woman needed a safe house in her life) but he didn’t feel safe at all. As soon as he had opened the door of the elevator, he had followed Donna’s advice and had left the office in a hurry. He had run home and packed a bag to bring to the safe house.

‘I should’ve brought something to protect myself. Perhaps I should’ve hired bodyguards too.’ He was almost certain that Harvey wouldn’t physically harm him but one could never be too prepared.

 _R-ring._

Benjamin almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of his prepaid cell phone. Donna was the only one who had the number.

“Hello…?” He tried to make his voice sound lower in case it wasn’t Donna.

“It’s me. What’s wrong with your voice? You sound awful.” Donna commented.

“Hello to you too.” It was nice to hear a voice that he recognized.

“How are you holding up?” Donna sounded worried.

“I’m alive, haha...” Benjamin felt like doing anything but laughing.

“I just wanted to check on you. It’s strange that Harvey didn’t ask for you right away yesterday. I think he’s trying to make us sweat.” Donna thought about how Harvey had just walked into his office and worked until six o’clock without threatening anyone’s life.

“If that’s his plan, I must say it’s working terribly well. I barely slept last night and even when I managed to fall asleep, he was in my dreams.” Benjamin shuddered at the intimidating stares that Harvey had given him in his dreams.

“Aww, you worry too much.”

“Hey, you put me in a safe house. I think I have every right to be worried sick.”

“Well, that’s just a precaution.”

Benjamin sighed. “I’m going crazy, Donna. Is there anything you can do to help me?”

“Try to take a nap. A warm cup of tea always helps as well.”

“No, you don’t get it. I need more than a cup of tea or a nap. I see him everywhere!”

“What do you mean?” Donna wasn’t following. Was the poor guy hallucinating out of fear?

“He’s always there! Glaring at me! I take a shower and bam! He’s standing outside, glaring through the window. I try to sleep and bam! He’s lying under the bed, glaring and poking at me through the mattress! I’m telling you, Donna, he’s everywhere!”

Donna bit her tongue to keep herself from laughing. She should feel pity for the poor soul, not enjoy a laugh at his expense.

“Why don’t you hit the nearest pharmacy and get some anti-anxiety drugs?” That was the best that she could offer.

“That’s a fantastic idea except that Harvey’s going to be glaring behind the counter.”

“Ahaha… Oh, sorry.” Donna quickly apologized but Benjamin was already hurt.

“Do you think there’s any chance, even the slightest chance, that Harvey might forgive us all? We did give him Mike!” Benjamin was desperate.

“Have you met Harvey? If you have, you wouldn’t ask me such a question.”

Benjamin let out another long sigh. He was doomed.

“I already talked to Jessica so that you can work outside the office for a while.” Donna spoke in a soothing voice.

“Thank you.” He said, even though he thought that a man like Harvey Specter could track him down easily if he wanted to.

“Don’t worry. He did mention settling, remember? You opened the door in exactly twenty minutes, just like he asked. Norma and I are going to talk to him on Monday. I’m supposed to meet her for lunch today to figure out our next move.”

Benjamin nodded. He felt a tiny bit better that the ladies weren’t going to hang him out to dry. “Can you call me tomorrow again?”

“Sure.”

Benjamin listened to Donna’s attempt at calming him down for another minute or two before ending the call. Thankfully, he felt better. Then he remembered a frightening incident from the day when he had first met Mike. The genius had come down to the IT department, asking where they kept the Cylons.

‘Oh gosh, I should’ve laughed when he said that, right? That was meant to be a joke. And, why didn’t I give him the information he needed right away? What if he tells Harvey that I made him memorize a full page of random numbers, wasting his precious memory like that? And, I should’ve totally let him call me Ben. Why did I insist on being called Benjamin?’

It all seemed so silly now that he was in real danger. ‘What difference does it make whether it’s written ‘Ben rests in peace here’ or ‘Benjamin rests in peace here’ on my tombstone? By the way, I doubt I’ll even be in peace. What does peace mean anyway? If Harvey can’t scare me anymore, could that be considered peace even when I’m in a tomb? Oh god, I really need those pills.’

He opened the closet to grab his jacket and had to scream, “Ahhh!!!”

Harvey was sitting inside the closet, glaring at him with his jacket in his hands.

 

Meanwhile, Gregory was trying to calm down with the help of a bottle of whisky. He rarely drank during the day but he needed something to make him forget about his nightmare. In his dream, he had gone down the elevator shaft and opened the ceiling, only to see that Harvey and Mike were ready to capture him. He had fallen into a huge sack that even Houdini couldn’t escape from and Harvey had ordered Mike to run to the closest post office and ship him off to a remote island.

‘Thank God it was just a dream. It felt so real! I can still hear Harvey’s ice-cold voice right in my ears.’

He poured himself another glass and wondered what he should do right now. He usually started the day by checking the fan club’s Facebook page but Donna had shut it down shortly after the elevator incident. Apparently, she had received a comment alert on her phone that told her that ‘Harold’ had left a comment on the page, saying: _Looking forward to see all of you in court._

‘We’ll be fine. Norma said that Jessica had our backs.’ He told himself and tried to relax.

He thought about the day when Mike had hugged him and had told him that he smelled papery. Mike’s cheek had been warm against his own and gratitude had rolled off the pretty boy. Since that day, his MSN nickname had been ‘Papery Gregory’.

‘I hope Harvey knows how lucky he is. I’d do any kind of paperwork just to get him to hug me like that again.’

With a sigh, he powered up his laptop and logged on MSN. Thankfully, The Marveyed had another means to support each other. He spotted Harold online and started to chat with him.

 _Papery Gregory: Hey, how are you doing? I’m drinking, lol._

 _Mike’s neighbor: I’m printing out some Harvey pictures. I thought he yelled at Mike and threw one away D:_

 _Papery Gregory: Does it help? Sounds healthier than drinking, lol._

 _Mike’s neighbor: Duh, Harvey’s face always helps. When people see Jesus, I see Harvey._

 _Papery Gregory: You do know he’s going to hunt us down like animals. He’s doing the opposite thing of what Jesus did._

 _Mike’s neighbor: I think he’s threatening us just because he can. He’s actually very kind. He’s not going to hunt us down :)_

 _Papery Gregory: Dude, you sound even more drunk than I am. Trust me, he IS going to hunt us down._

 _Mike’s neighbor: Have some faith! Do you think Mike would’ve fallen for someone who’s so ungrateful? We’re the ones who helped him get Mike!_

 _Papery Gregory: I don’t know. I just know that Donna moved Benjamin to a safe house. If that doesn’t scream danger, I don’t know what does!!_

 _Mike’s neighbor: I think Donna scares me more than Harvey. Harvey’s probably scared of her too. She’s going to talk to him on Monday so no worries. Now, can you help me choose between these two pictures? I only have special printing paper left for one picture D=_

Gregory received two pictures of Harvey. ‘Is he serious? He’s worried about printing out pictures when Harvey’s probably plotting how to send us to jail?? Unbelievable…’

 _Mike’s neighbor: Are you still there? The first one shows off his elegance while the second one shows off his devilish charm. Which one do you like better?_

 _Papery Gregory: The first one._

It was easy to choose. The last thing that he wanted was to associate the word ‘devil’ with Harvey.

Apparently, Norma was the only one who was enjoying a peaceful time. She was worried about the club and her job just like the other members but if Harvey got her fired, she would finally be able to stop working for Louis and go on with her matchmaking business. Until then, she was planning to enjoy her success at making love blossom between a senior partner and his associate.

She was currently looking at her precious photo album that contained pictures of the couples that she had brought together. In difficult times like this, she liked to look back and gain strength and confidence from her glorious past.

‘Hmm, I wonder if Peter and Elizabeth are still trying to have kids. Their babies would look so beautiful and handsome. Oh, I haven’t heard from Leonard and Penny in a while. I still don’t see Penny on the screen, so I’m guessing that all those auditions didn’t really work out. What a pity. Ah, I hope Steve and Danny are doing well in Hawaii. The last time I checked, the crime rate down there was remarkably low. They must be working well as a team. Good for the Hawaiian people.’

She flipped through the pages with a proud smile on her face until she reached a blank page. ‘I can’t wait to put a Marvey picture in here and write down their names. I wonder if Mike would like to take Harvey’s name.’

“Michael Specter. Harvey Ross.” She tried both names in her mouth and realized that she liked the former much better.

‘The Specters it is then.’ She smiled and closed the album. If Harvey thought that he was the only great closer in the city, he was greatly mistaken.

 

“Oh, sweet lord! Harvey looks absolutely fantastic here! His whole life is a classy photo shoot! How does he manage that?” Mike spoke in a passionate falsetto.

He was reading one of the comments from the screen captures that he had made of the ‘The Marveyed’ Facebook page. He was sitting on Harvey’s couch with his laptop on his lap while Harvey sat next to him, stroking his free arm.

“Then there’s a drooling icon, haha. This girl obviously has the hots for you.” Mike added.

He was trying to make Harvey realize that the club members were nice people who just had a crush on Harvey or him. He had been reading positive comments (not that there were negative ones but there were outright creepy ones) in hopes that Harvey would feel a little forgiving. After all, who didn’t like to get compliments from sweet fans?

“Read me something I can use in court. And, drop the weird voice, will you?”

Mike swallowed hard. Apparently, the hot sex in the glass elevator hadn’t done much to Harvey’s mood.

“Uh, they talk about projects.” He said reluctantly. He didn’t want his coworkers to get into trouble; some of them were even his friends.

“How many?” Harvey asked in a sharp tone.

“I count ten. They did plan more for the future though. It looks like their end game is getting us married.” Mike had to blush at the mention of marriage. Would someone like Harvey even consider marriage? Could he possibly be the lucky one?

Harvey’s voice softened at Mike’s reaction. “You like the idea.”

Mike didn’t know if he should deny it. They had only been together for a couple of days and he was already open to the idea of getting married. ‘God, I’m hopeless. But who wouldn’t want to get married to Harvey? Especially when it’s legal now!’

He turned his head to the left and met Harvey’s eyes. Harvey looked amused and surprised.

“Um, do you remember when I got soaked in your office because the fire alarm went off?” He tried to focus on his laptop. Harvey was watching him far too intensely for his fragile heart to handle. “Well, that was one of their projects too. It was called ‘Wet puppy’, geez.”

“Mm-hmm…”

“Oh, and they used a giant magnet to rig the ‘Spin the bottle’! Damn, that was very clever of them. Not that I agree with the method…”

“Okay.”

Mike glanced at Harvey. The man wasn’t listening. He was still looking at him with genuine interest as if he had seen him for the first time.

‘He doesn’t mind getting married to someone…? Shouldn’t he be frowning at me?’ Mike was confused and a little happy.

‘Wait. Perhaps this is the key to settling the mess peacefully. I should keep reading him about the wedding plans.’ He felt as if he had become a liaison agent between Harvey and the fan club.

“So they have considered several options. Religious ones, simple ones in the city hall, small ones with just families, friends, and of course, the club. They also talked about adventurous ones where we skydive or do bungee jumping. Gosh, that must be scary. Then, there are really romantic ones on exotic islands. Wow, these pictures look awesome. Anyway and then there’s...”

Mike’s nervous words were cut off by Harvey’s lips. Mike figured that it was a good thing that Harvey got momentarily distracted from his grand project of suing half the firm. Besides, when was Harvey’s kiss ever a bad thing?

Mike felt himself pushing the laptop off his knees and climbing on to Harvey’s lap. He was utterly powerless under Harvey’s lips but he didn’t mind it one bit. He hooked his arms around Harvey’s neck and closed his eyes. Harvey’s possessive tongue was making sure that every bit of his mouth belonged to him.

“Harvey…” Too bad that he needed air.

“You’re all mine, puppy…” Harvey planted kisses all over Mike’s face.

‘Oh, so this is what it’s all about.’ Mike realized why Harvey could be possibly interested in the idea of getting married. ‘Of course! There’s nothing that screams legal ownership more than a marriage!’

To think that one day, Harvey might want to claim him legally was too much joy for Mike. To think that Harvey might own him and that he might get to own Harvey was arousing on a whole new level. ‘I think I should fund the fan club, not sue it. How would I do as a double agent? Hmm…’

Mike kissed Harvey, determined to show him that he was indeed another Harvey who liked to own exquisite things in life. “You know, in Kama Sutra…”

Harvey laughed as he breathed in. “I’m not going to abuse you, Mike. It’s only been a couple of hours.”

“But I have this sudden ache!”

“I can tell and I promise I’ll take care of that, but no more Kama Sutra for the day.”

Mike wasn’t sure if he should be offended or touched. Then he wondered if he hadn’t been good enough in the glass elevator.

“You’re perfect, Mike.” Harvey kissed the insecurity away. “I just want you to be able to walk on your own feet.”

“Ooh, you’re confident you can be that good, huh? I’m much stronger than you think.” Mike teased even though he was certain that Harvey would have no problem doing that.

“When we get a break that’s longer than two days, I’ll gladly show you what it’s like to not be able to walk.” Harvey whispered darkly in Mike’s ear, sending shivers down Mike’s spine.

“Harvey… the ache…” Mike was already breathless. He had no idea how he had managed to keep his hands to himself before Thursday night. He was being worse than a horny teenager with a horrible crush.

“Got it.” Harvey lifted Mike from his lap and lay him down on the couch. He was thrilled that Mike was willing to share his excitement with none other than him. He understood that it could be a very tricky and undesirable thing for Mike to date his boss, so he was all the more grateful for Mike’s choice.

“Do you like horny boys?” Mike asked as he lifted his hips so that Harvey could pull down his sweatpants. He knew that it was a stupid question but he wanted to know. If Harvey said no, he would have to find a way to be more decent around him.

“They’re the best.” Harvey chuckled as he started to rub Mike’s thighs.

“Oh, good.” Mike relaxed and closed his eyes. He could stop worrying now.

“So, are you ready to be a babbling mess for me?” Harvey’s fingers teased the back of Mike’s knees.

“Yes!” Mike answered eagerly.

Harvey lowered his face and licked the taut thighs in long strokes.

“Oh god…” Mike felt the urge to declare his love for Harvey as he let out a shameless moan. ‘Is it too early?’

He pondered while enjoying Harvey’s gentle touches and confident lips. ‘Of course it’s too early! Let’s not push it. I should be thankful for what I have now.’

But Mike thought that he might have already fallen in love with his boss the minute that he had left that interview room. Apart from his grandmother, he hadn’t been able to trust anyone to not use him for his eidetic memory until he had met Harvey. Most people that he had met –even the ones that he had considered friends such as Trevor- had eventually taken advantage of his brain, making him feel as if his gift was actually a curse.

‘Harvey’s different. He always was.’

Working under Harvey had made him feel useful in a healthy, legitimate way. Harvey taught him how to be responsible, confident, and happy with what he had. Harvey believed in him day in and day out even when he himself had doubts. And, when he thought that he was going to fall and crash, Harvey was there to catch him and keep him safe.

‘I love you, Harvey.’

Mike pulled Harvey up and kissed him with everything he had. He believed that he didn’t have to say the words out loud. So he kissed and kissed until he couldn’t tell whether he and Harvey were two separate individuals. And, judging by the way he was kissed back, Mike thought that Harvey might feel the same way about him.


	18. The shark and the fox

  
Monday morning had arrived and Jessica found herself staring at the long list of employees who had called in sick.

‘Unbelievable.’ She shook her head in disapproval. ‘Such weak-minded employees and half of them call themselves lawyers.’

She understood that nobody wanted to be bitten by the biggest shark in the firm but this was unacceptable. The managing partner pondered about giving a bonus to all the club members who bravely showed up at work but it wouldn’t be fair to other employees who weren’t part of the club. ‘Fine. Those who didn’t show up today will not get their hands on the VIP calendar.’

She knew that it was a harsh punishment, especially since she had just taken a look inside the calendar. The boys looked classy, sexy, and confident; just what people responded to in this era.

 _Knock-knock._

“You wanted to see me?” Donna’s face appeared in sight.

“Yes, come in. Take a seat.” Jessica gestured at the couch.

Donna sat down with a slightly tired look on her face and waited for Jessica to sit across her.

“How did the meeting go with Norma yesterday? I heard that some of the members have come up with suggestions as to how to deal with this sensitive issue.”

Donna nodded. “Yes, some members contacted us via e-mail and messenger.”

“And, what were the suggestions?”

Donna chose not to tell her about the ridiculous ones. She knew that the woman did not tolerate weak employees. “Some of them wanted to launch a preemptive attack.”

“Meaning?”

“We don’t wait in fear until Harvey strikes. We rather go straight up to him and tell him about our organization and try to get his approval. We try to show him that we could be useful to him and Mike.”

“Hmm, at least that’s not a weak-minded approach.” Jessica ran her fingers along the arm of the couch.

“I know Harvey wants revenge but if we could prove that it’s in his and Mike’s best interest to keep our club going instead of dismantling it, he might not go through with whatever plan he has in mind. That’s the exact reason why we have some members on board that he’s rather fond of.”

“You’re one of them, I assume.”

Donna smiled with satisfaction. “Yes, I’m not terribly worried about my job or safety. But I was referring to Rene, Ray, Gloria, Kevin, Dustin and Robert.”

“I’m only familiar with Ray.” Jessica decided that she should pay more attention to her employees.

“Well, Rene’s his tailor, Gloria’s his housekeeper, and Kevin’s his doorman. Dustin’s the owner of his favorite coffee stand and Robert owns the hot dog cart outside the building. I know they’re replaceable but Harvey’s a man of routine. He doesn’t like change unless it’s necessary. Besides, he’s known these people for quite some years already. I doubt he’d want to let all of them walk out of his everyday life.”

Jessica laughed. “I think we should get Mike on board. I don’t see a safer way than that.”

“Yes, that was one of the other useful suggestions. But Norma and I are pretty sure that Mike is already half on board.”

“How so?”

“Well, if his conversation with Rachel this morning is anything to go by, he seemed rather grateful that he landed in Harvey’s arms with our help.”

“What if I talk to him?” Jessica offered but Donna made a polite face.

“I’m not sure that’s the best way to go about it.”

“Why not? He and I used to have some nice conversations when he worked for me.”

“I’m sure you did. But if Harvey finds out that we’ve reached out to Mike, I’m afraid that it would only fuel his anger. If I may, I think it would be best if we waited until Mike came to us on his own will.”

“If that’s how you’d like to proceed, then fine. But make sure that you get the consensus of the members. I’m glad that the club has achieved its goal but if things get out of control for too long, I will have to step in and do what Harvey’s probably trying to do. I cannot have so many employees not showing up like this.”

Donna nodded firmly. “I understand.”

“Good. Now try to be careful for the rest of the day. You work the closest to our favorite shark.” Jessica gave the red-haired woman a serious look.

“I’ll be fine. He loves me too much.” Donna stood up with a playful smile but her mind felt heavy as she thought about the emotional safety of the other members.

 

“Oh, there you are.” Harvey was standing in front of his office with his arms crossed when Donna had made her way to her area.

“Harvey. Do you need something?” Donna tried to smile without looking nervous.

“Yeah. I need you to get me Ben from IT.”

“Ben? What for? And, you couldn’t give the order through the intercom?”

“Nope. Too much of an important matter.” Harvey wanted to read Donna’s face.

“I’ll let you know when I get him on the phone. But I have to warn you that many people called in sick today.” Donna said, sitting at her desk.

“I wonder why.” Harvey snorted as he walked back into his office. His secretary was definitely hiding something or some _one_ from him.

“Ah, I almost forgot.” He took a step outside the office again. “You don’t get to listen in through the intercom until you deliver him. Have a nice day, Donna.” He walked back in cheerfully.

Donna gave a deep sigh and texted Norma: _He’s asked about Benjamin. We need to act fast._

Meanwhile, Harvey turned off the intercom and called his favorite private detective.

“Hey, Vanessa, it’s me. I need you to find me someone as soon as possible.” Harvey gave her all the basic information that he had on Benjamin. He had already checked that he wasn’t at work and found out that his cell phone had been turned off.

“Do you want me to bring him to you? Because if you want, I know those kinds of people.”

“And, here I thought you didn’t like me.” Harvey smiled into the phone.

“I just thought that I could charge you more.” Vanessa smiled back.

Harvey laughed. “I just need you to leave him a note on the doorstep. Let him know that I have found him.”

“Is he a witness that ran away?”

“No. Let’s just say that he’s a person of interest. Call me when you’ve located him. Oh, and when you address him in the note, don’t forget to call him ‘Ben’, not ‘Benjamin’.”

“A slightly odd request but you’re the client.” Then Vanessa laughed knowingly.

“What?”

“Is he a love interest? ‘Ben’ sounds rather intimate, don’t you think? Let me guess. He has a fragile heart and was a little stunned at your courageous advances.”

Harvey didn’t even bat an eye. “I know you don’t believe what you’re saying even for a second. Otherwise you’re not as good as I thought you were.”

The private detective laughed harder. “Well, I’d tell you all about your newly found love, but that would imply that I like you enough to keep myself updated on you.”

Harvey felt the urge to ask her what she knew about Mike but decided against it. If he wanted to know something about his associate, he could simply ask him himself. “Just find me Ben, Vanessa. You won’t be disappointed.”

He ended the call and wondered what his favorite associate was doing. So he picked up his cell phone and left him a text message: _Busy? Have a minute to kiss?_

It only took a few seconds to get an answer: _I’m on my way! =D_

Harvey had to laugh at the emoticon. It looked exactly like Mike.

 

Lex was busy with work when his secretary came into his office with a package. “Thanks, Lana. You can put it there.”

Despite the war clouds hanging over the office, the senior partner was feeling great. It had turned out that he actually had contributed into bringing Harvey and Mike together, and he was even going to get a medal for his distinguished service and bravery.

‘Norma knows just how much I love medals. Smart woman she is.’

Lex smiled, picturing different types of medals in his mind as he opened the package. Inside, he found a shirt that he recognized with a note pinned to it. It was the shirt that he had bought Mike to show his appreciation for helping him out and to drive Harvey mad.

‘Ooh, wildly in love, aren’t we?’ He could see that the shirt was wrinkled and some of the buttons were missing.

He opened the folded note and read it: _Collateral damage. Next time, use your own associate._

‘My own associate…’ Lex thought about his associate Seth and shuddered. Not everyone was blessed with a pretty, kind, and smart associate like Harvey.

‘Well, at least the note isn’t too threatening. I was expecting much harsher words. Perhaps Harvey’s getting soft with all the love bubbling up inside him.’ Lex enjoyed a good laugh and felt even more proud to have performed well at the party.

‘I should show this to my comrades, preferably when I get that medal. Until then, I should keep it in a safe place, in case someone tries to steal it.’ He smiled as he got up and walked over to his built-in safe behind a Matisse.

‘Hmm, where should I display the shirt when I get back home? Should I get it framed and put it on my bedroom wall? What about on the wall of my walk-in closet? Or should I just keep it with my other shirts? This is a tough one.’ He obviously had a lot to ponder about today.

 

Louis had this weird feeling that he was doing a whole lot of work these days. Of course, he had always been happy and proud to dedicate his efforts and passion to Pearson-Hardman but recently, it almost felt as if he was single-handedly taking care of the firm.

‘What can I say? I’m so competent that work naturally ends up on my desk.’ He sighed and looked down at his left arm. He had been busy with two failed relationships over the past few weeks; one had ended with a restraining order and the other one had ended with him getting stitches on his left forearm in the emergency room.

‘Perhaps I wasn’t as focused on work as I thought. Women can get in the way like that.’ Louis grumbled and wondered where the future Mrs. Litt was. Every time he thought that he had found the right one, something disastrous happened and he was left with the realization that he was alone again.

‘Well, at least I don’t feel too alone when I’m at work.’ The only comforting thought was that his nemesis Harvey Specter hadn’t met someone special either.

‘He’s going to marry a gold-digger someday. I can feel it. She’ll look for hidden treasure in the house while he’s asleep.’

Louis cackled and thought about how fun it would be to make jokes using Harvey’s wife. ‘I’d tell him the exact same jokes that he made. I’d say that his wife picked this shirt for me in the morning.’

He felt a little better about his miserable situation and decided to get back to work. So he pressed the intercom and ordered his secretary, “Norma, can you get me the files on the Williams case?”

There was no answer.

“Norma?” He looked outside his office and noticed that she wasn’t at her desk.

‘What is that woman into these days? Ever since I came back from my sick leave on Thursday, she’s been acting like a crazy woman. Well, a craz _ier_ woman. Is she involved in some kind of a cult?’ Louis wondered if he needed to rescue her from a horrible organization. But then he remembered that Norma was a tough and scary woman. If she was in a cult, there was a higher chance of her being the leader instead of a poor victim.

‘Okay, I’m feeling bad again. Let’s just focus on work.’ He stopped thinking about his secretary and left his office with an armful of files.

“Mike, I need your brain on these.” He dumped the files on his favorite punching bag’s desk.

“Hello, Louis.” Mike greeted him with a smile.

Louis eyed the dirty blond suspiciously. “Why do you look so cheerful? No lawyer’s cheerful except for Harvey Specter who thinks he can just come in at half past nine.”

“It’s a lovely day, Louis. And, didn’t you have a nice, relaxing weekend?” Mike beamed.

The junior partner’s face immediately turned dark. “Not everyone has the luxury of spending a relaxing weekend, Mike. Some people have to get physical therapy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about your arm. But I suppose it’s a good sign that you were able to carry all these files, right?”

Louis made a face. Mike was becoming irritatingly similar to his boss. “Just get them done before you go home.”

He didn’t wait for Mike’s answer and turned on his heel.

‘I should really get more involved in hiring new personnel. And, why are there so many empty seats today? There has been a plague or something? My point again: get more involved in who gets to work in this firm. Urgh…’ He shook his head as he stomped out of the associates’ area.

 

“We want to be acknowledged! We’re too good to be an underground club that gets no love! We are proud of who we are! We shouldn’t be afraid of being ourselves!” Deb had never been afraid to speak her mind. The minute that she was informed that there would be a club meeting at lunch time, she had prepared those words that would convince any true Marvey believer.

“She’s right! We don’t want to hide our love for Marvey no matter what!” Elizabeth had her back.

“We’re not cursed! We’re blessed! Why can’t Harvey see that?” Harold loved all this shouting. It made him feel like a resistance fighter.

Norma smiled at the positive and aggressive attitude. Obviously the bravest members had shown up to work.

“Look at these pictures!” Abby showed everyone the VIP calendar. “I’ve never taken such artistic pictures in my life! Harvey should know that he and Mike were _that_ inspiring! How could he possibly be mad at us when he sees all these pictures?”

“I imagine someone as handsome as Harvey would enjoy getting his pictures taken. Or he’d love to have some pictures of Mike. We could provide photo service for free!” Rebecca tried not to drool, thinking about all the beautiful pictures that could end up in her darkroom.

That opinion reminded Norma of his boss. The man owned five pictures of himself in his office. As far as she was concerned, nobody liked getting his pictures taken more than Louis Litt.

“Any other suggestions?” She asked but everyone was busy getting a copy of the calendar.

“Guys, we were going to hand them out _after_ the meeting.” Donna tried to get their attention in vain.

“Oh well… there’s nothing we can do about that now.” Norma rubbed her temples and gestured for Donna to sit down with her.

“Let’s go over the main points before we walk into the shark tank,” Norma suggested. It was truly a challenging day at work.

 

It was around two o’clock in the afternoon when Donna and Norma knocked on Harvey’s office door. They had waited until this hour to catch Harvey in his best mood. According to Donna, everyone –even Harvey- was in a great mood after a pleasant meal.

“Harvey, we’d like to have a word with you if you have a moment.” Donna used her softest voice.

“Take a seat then.” Harvey knew what they wanted to talk about, so he offered them a seat on the couch and sat down across them. Mike had read him all the important parts of the Facebook page so he was aware that none other than Louis’ secretary was the head of the fan club.

“Before we discuss anything, we’d like Mike present if he’s available. Our club supports him as well.” Norma made her intentions clear with intense eyes.

Harvey shivered inwardly at Norma’s stare. If she and Louis had one thing in common, it was their freakish eyes. He was so used to looking at Mike and Donna’s pretty eyes that the contrast was unbearable to him.

“Fine. Give him a minute.” Harvey called Mike on his phone and ordered him to come to his office.

“Harvey? You _need_ me?” Mike asked playfully but his expression became serious once he spotted the two ladies on the other side of the couch.

“Yes. Come sit with me. It looks like we need to _talk_.” Harvey spoke as if he meant something disastrous.

Hoping that the atmosphere would be lightened with Mike’s presence, Norma handed over a list to Harvey.

Harvey took a look at the list and let Mike read it over his arm:

 _Early bird offer! The Marveyed are willing to offer the following services:  
1) 10% of profits generated from Marvey products  
2) Free Marvey products  
3) 5% discount on every hot dog and cup of coffee purchased  
4) 5% discount on every new suit (10% for Mike, 20% for wedding suit)  
5) Free photo service whenever needed  
6) Offer personal and housekeeping services to Mike every other week  
7) Free birthday parties  
8) Wedding planning service  
9) Feed Harvey secrets and funny anecdotes of Louis  
10) Send Mike’s news and pictures to his grandmother once a month_

“Oh, and no more stalking via security cameras.” Donna added with a smile. Rachel had told her that Mike had mentioned how pissed off Harvey had been about that particular matter.

Mike was impressed at the mental strength of the club members to have come to Harvey instead of hiding in a safe place. But then, they didn’t know what Harvey had in mind for them. If they knew what Harvey had muttered to himself in the shower or in the kitchen about what he would like to do to them, they probably wouldn’t have had the courage to walk in here with a list.

‘Well, best defense is offense.’ He thought as he checked Harvey’s expression; the man was wearing his lawyer face.

“What do you want in exchange?” Harvey’s voice was calm.

“Nothing much, really. If you could flip to the next page.” Norma motioned and Harvey did as he was told.

 _In return, we would like:  
1) Official recognition as one of the Pearson-Hardman clubs  
2) Freedom to display Marvey products in the office  
3) An autograph/photo session with all the members  
4) Autographs on Marvey products  
5) Q&A session once a year_

“Wow, this is a great deal, Harvey. We don’t have to do much. We should totally take it.” Mike had never seen such an exciting deal. He was thrilled at all the discounts and the sweet services.

“No, Mike. We’re not just going to take it. We’re going to think about it.”

“But why? I can’t imagine a better deal than this. Plus, it says it’s an early bird offer!”

Everyone had to laugh a little at Mike’s enthusiasm.

“If you need time to consider it, we’ll be back later for an answer.” Donna tried to take advantage of Harvey’s mood and stood up.

“Not so fast.” Harvey’s stern look made her sit down again.

“Oh, was there something else you wanted to talk about?” She batted her eyes innocently.

“Where’s Ben?” Harvey asked even though he knew that he wouldn’t get an honest answer.

“Ben? I told you that he wasn’t feeling well and was resting at home.” Donna lied skillfully. She didn’t work as a lawyer’s secretary for nothing.

“I’m not going to agree on anything unless I get to see him. Is that clear?”

Norma found herself nodding. When it came to making matters clear, Harvey was nothing like her boss. “If we deliver him, can we assume that the rest of us won’t see the inside of the court?”

“Norma!” Donna narrowed her eyes at her colleague. She wasn’t going to leave any soldier behind.

“What? He knew the risks when he started to take orders from you.” Norma whispered so that the two lawyers wouldn’t hear their conversation.

“But I promised him that we’d get him out of this mess!” Donna whispered in an angry voice.

“What do you propose then?”

Donna pondered for a moment and turned to Harvey, “You can sue me instead of Ben. He was just doing what I told him to do.”

Harvey tilted his head. “Who said anything about suing him?”

The ladies looked confused so he clarified his intentions. “I want to _see_ him. I have better things to do than to use my precious time on suing someone who’s probably already terrified to death.”

‘He’s got that last part right.’ Donna thought as she remembered how Benjamin had suffered from hallucinations.

“We’ll think about it.” Norma smiled in a business manner. “Anything else?”

Harvey studied his enemies for a second. He wasn’t terribly interested in wasting his time on the lowly members; he wanted to deal with the ones in charge. He was certain that he could punish Donna all by himself and that Louis could do the same with Norma. As for Lex, Harvey felt bad enough for him that he had such a useless associate to work with day in and day out. Then, there was Jessica but Harvey felt like it was enough punishment for her to have to run a firm with such employees. ‘Besides, there are always other ways to punish someone without relying on the legal system. I can already think of plenty of them.’

“No. That should do for now.”

As soon as Harvey finished the sentence, the ladies bolted out of the office. Things had gone down much better than they had expected and they didn’t want to do something stupid to ruin their fortune.

“What are you going to do with Benjamin?” Mike asked. He wasn’t fond of the IT guy but he was worried that Harvey might do some permanent damage to him.

“I want to make a deal with him separately.” Harvey smiled mischievously. IT technique always came in handy these days.

“What do you think about the deal?” Harvey asked quickly. He didn’t want Mike to keep asking questions about his revenge.

“I like it…” Mike hesitated. He didn’t think that it was the right answer but he didn’t want to lie.

“Of course you like it. It’s very Mike-oriented.”

Mike chuckled and kissed Harvey on the cheek. “But even you would like all those discounts. Plus, if I can get 10% off my suits, think about how many _nice_ suits I could get! That itself should make you satisfied.”

“I don’t need any discounts. And, as I said, we’re going to think about it.”

“You’re going to make them sweat, aren’t you?”

“Unless you’re going to kiss me with that mouth, I suggest you go back to your cubicle and do some work for me.” Harvey could tell that Mike had already been fully swayed by the club so there was no point discussing his plans with him. Mike had done his part and now it was all up to himself.

“Fine. I’ll get back to work then.” Mike stood up, leaving a baffled Harvey on the couch.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to my cubicle.” Mike walked towards the door.

“Get back here.”

Mike smiled at the half-authoritative, half-whiny tone. “You are going to make them sweat.”

“Yes.” Harvey admitted with a little pout. The puppy was becoming a fox.

“That wasn’t too difficult, was it?” Mike beamed and headed back to the couch.

“Trying to dance on top of my head now?” Harvey kissed his associate as soon as he sat down.

“Nope… Just trying to get an answer out of you.” Mike replied, thinking that he should donate those 5% discounts to the fan club. He couldn’t wait to secure the man in his arms and he could use all the help he could get.


	19. The inevitable consequences

  
Two days had passed and Jessica was once again looking at the list of employees who had missed work. The list was shorter but fourteen (not counting the IT guy who was going to work outside the building until the mess cleared up) was still too many for her liking. Some even sent her a doctor’s note which said that the patient needed to rest due to over-anxiety, insomnia or extreme stress.

‘So they’d rather risk their jobs than running into Harvey? Didn’t Norma tell them that they wouldn’t get the newsletter or the newest life-size posters if they didn’t show up today? Those are some very nice posters!’ Jessica shook her head and decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Harvey, sign the damn deal.” She ordered as she walked into the senior partner’s office.

“Good morning to you too, mom.” Harvey snorted. It was clear that he didn’t approve of her order.

“I mean it. This is starting to cost me money and you know how I feel about that.” She took a seat on the couch, forcing Harvey to leave his desk and join her.

“You should’ve thought about that before you let those law breakers manipulate us.”

“Mike doesn’t seem to mind it too much.”

“Well, he’s too happy that he’s sleeping with me on a daily basis.”

“And, you don’t feel the same way about him?” Jessica lifted her thick eyebrow.

“I feel satisfied within the normal range of emotions. Seriously, it’s like he’s on a quest to discover all the wonders of Kama Sutra in a very short time.”

“So that’s why you look all stiff and tired. It’s your back?” Jessica laughed.

“Yes and some places that I refuse to mention.”

Jessica’s laughter became louder. “It can’t be easy to keep up with someone who’s a decade younger than you.”

“It’s not that.” Harvey was quick to correct her. “He might have a great memory but I don’t think he’s that good at determining what works in reality and what has to stay in a book.”

“I’ll get Donna to find you a good masseuse if you agree to sign the deal then.” Jessica offered, still laughing a little.

“Have you even seen the deal? It’s utter crap.”

“What a great choice of words from my best lawyer.” The managing partner mocked.

“If you want me to sign a deal, it’s going to be on my terms and I choose to deal with you instead.”

“How flattering. You’re just going to take advantage of the fact that I need my employees back at work.”

“You’re the one who taught me how to make deals. Live with it.” Harvey smiled like the shark he was.

“All right. What do you want? You don’t get to sue anyone in the firm though.” Jessica was ready to listen.

“I want to talk to Ben alone and you’re going to do several things for the employees. You’re not going to tell anyone that it’s my idea or warn anyone. Are we clear?”

“What kind of things are we talking about?” Jessica wondered what he had in mind.

“Let’s just say that it’s all about improving the productivity of this firm. Trust me, you’ll like them.” Harvey kept it vague. The less she knew, the better it would work.

“How many things do I need to do?” Jessica hoped that Harvey had enough sense not to ask for drastic changes.

“Only a few. Nothing to worry about.” Harvey spoke in a tone that exactly made her worry.

“Anything else?”

“I want handwritten letters of apology from everyone in the club, including you. No exceptions.”

Jessica looked surprised. She hadn’t expected this kind of a request.

“No need to say it’s Mike’s idea.” Harvey rolled his eyes.

Jessica enjoyed another laugh. “That’s a sweet idea. I can’t believe he survived in Harvard with such a gentle heart.”

Her words gave Harvey a really sweet idea. “One more thing.”

“What more thing? I think you’ve asked enough.”

Harvey’s tone was firm. “Nothing so far has concerned you except for that letter of apology and even that one is just for Mike. So you will do this one thing for me.”

Jessica sighed. “I’m listening.”

“One day, when I ask you, you will give me or Mike a free pardon.”

“If you’re going to get rid of Louis and make me give you a free pardon, I can’t do that.”

“I’m not going to get rid of Louis. Who’s going to take all the boring cases?” Harvey grinned.

“Fine. Now it’s my turn to ask.” Jessica crossed her legs.

“What? Not suing anyone isn’t enough for you?”

“Unfortunately, no. You and Mike are going to have an autograph session tomorrow so that everyone would show up to work. And, you are going to be nice to everyone. No exceptions.”

“Why do they want our autographs anyway? They already stole ours from the documents.”

“It’s not about getting an autograph. It’s about getting to talk you to up close and personal.” Jessica explained as if she was talking to a seven-year old child.

“All right. But if I get a cramp in my arm, I’m going to blame you.”

“You can sue me.” Jessica said drily but her tone changed as she moved on to her real request. “I also want you to invite the club to your wedding.”

“What wedding? I’m not getting married.”

“Yet. But you will want to and you will get married.” Jessica’s eyes twinkled with excitement.

“You can’t possibly know that. Unless you’ve never told me that you could see the future.”

“Look around, Harvey. You like to put your possessions on display. I’m sure you’d like people to know that Mike belongs to you and only you.”

Harvey didn’t say anything. He just hated her sometimes.

“It’s just signing a piece of paper. It’s not like you’ll have to deal with Mike’s family. He only has one grandmother if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yeah, she seems to be pleasant and wise from what Mike tells me.”

“Great then. And, I’m not suggesting this for you. Think about Mike. While you’ll have many people on your side, he’ll only have his grandmother. He doesn’t need to be reminded on one of the best days of his life that he doesn’t have much of a family. The club can be his family for that one day. Think about it. No need to decide in a hurry.”

Jessica got up and patted Harvey on the shoulder as she walked past him. Now that she had made a deal, she could tell her weak-minded employees to get their asses back to work.

 

_Knock-knock._

“Harvey?” Mike rushed into the office.

“What did you do, puppy?” Harvey asked, wondering what kind of a mistake his associate had made.

“It’s not what I did. It’s what _you_ did! Why do you need a masseuse when you have me? Donna just asked me if I was fine with another person touching your body.” Mike walked around Harvey’s desk.

“Is today the day that people tell me all about their hidden abilities? Since when do you know how to give a massage?”

“I read a book about it. Let me show you. If you give me a couple of hours, I can do even better. The book I read didn’t have the last few chapters. Someone tore them out.” Mike put his hands on Harvey’s shoulders and Harvey tensed immediately.

“Hey, don’t worry. You’re in good hands.” Mike started to rub the tense shoulders.

“You’re not a pro, Mike. I’m not sure I’m in good hands.” Harvey spotted Donna smirking outside the office and pressed the button to get the blinds down. The woman wasn’t supposed to enjoy this.

“But I know your shoulders, Harvey. Better than anyone! That even includes yourself!” Mike moved his hands confidently.

“Gripping one’s shoulders while moaning isn’t the same as giving a professional massage. Besides, it’s my back that needs a massage. The shoulders aren’t too bad.”

“Got it. I’ll read all about back massages and blow your mind tonight.”

Harvey wanted to point out that possessing the knowledge by reading a book and having years of experience actually giving a massage were very different things but he didn’t have the heart to say it. Mike looked excited at the task ahead and he didn’t want to wipe off the bright look from his face.

‘I guess he’ll learn the hard way that he can’t do everything even with an eidetic memory when I’m unable to thrust into him.’ Harvey sighed as Mike karate-chopped his shoulders.

“Thanks, Mike. I feel great now. You can go back to work.”

“Already? Are you sure?” Mike asked suspiciously.

“Yeah, you’re a terrific masseur.”

Mike let go of Harvey. “You obviously don’t believe what you’re saying. Just wait till we go back to your place after work.” He pressed a kiss on Harvey’s cheek before leaving.

Harvey groaned, suddenly not minding doing some late-night work. He valued his body almost as much as his brain and he really couldn’t trust Mike’s unskilled hands no matter how nice and warm they were.

‘Oh well, maybe I’ll finally get some rest if he damages my back.’ He thought as he let out a long yawn. Of course, he could always say no to Mike but he found it extremely difficult to do that when Mike called his name in a sultry voice while pressing up against him.

While Harvey was debating if he could squeeze in a short nap, Donna was calling Benjamin with a heavy heart. Jessica had told her that Harvey wasn’t planning to press charges against him but she was worried that he might suffer a heart attack by talking to Harvey without any backup.

“Hello…?” It sounded like he was already having a heart attack.

“It’s me. Do you still see Harvey everywhere? You sound like you need to call 911.” Donna felt bad for the guy.

“Donna? You said that nobody knew about that place! You said it was a safe house! Well, guess what!? It’s not as safe as you made me think! Harvey found me!” Benjamin’s tone was accusing.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Harvey doesn’t even know that place exists. I never told him. But wait. What do you mean by ‘that’ place? Where are you?” Donna wondered if Harvey had gone as far as to put Vanessa on him.

“There was a note on the front door this morning! It said ‘Ben, Mr. Specter says hi.’ so I left right away!”

“Where are you now then?”

“I’m not going to tell you for my own safety. Considering that you’re the one to blame for all this, you’ll have to find a way to get me out of this mess. You promised me!”

“Stop being dramatic, Benjamin. I called to give you some good news. The mess has already been taken care of. Jessica confirmed that Harvey won’t be pressing any charges against anyone.”

“What’s the catch?”

Donna bit her lips. She was hoping that she wouldn’t have to tell him until he set foot in the office.

“Harvey just wants to talk to you. No big deal!” She said as cheerfully as possible. “You’re not going to talk to him in court so consider yourself lucky.”

“Lucky? Did you just say I’m _lucky_? I’m miserable, horrified, sleep-deprived, and many more things, but there’s no way I’m lucky!”

Donna was starting to get annoyed. If Benjamin thought that he was the only one who wasn’t in a good mood, he was definitely mistaken. If losing her intercom privileges wasn’t bad enough, Harvey had confiscated some of her best Marvey tape recordings when he found out that she was listening to those instead. She felt like she was ageing a year every few hours and at this rate, she would look like Louis’ mother in no time.

“Listen. Do you want a medal like Lex? You did what had to be done and now you’re going to face the consequences like a man. You want to go back to your normal life and see your girlfriend again, don’t you? Plus, you want to show up tomorrow because we have a Marvey autograph session. You don’t want to miss that.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to miss that. God, I’m so marveyed…” Benjamin whined as he realized that he still liked Marvey despite everything that had happened. It was nice to think that Mike would remember him for the rest of his life.

“So you’re going to wear a brave suit and come in tomorrow?”

“Yeah… What choice do I have? Harvey will find me anyway. And, I really miss Sophie.” Benjamin thought about his girlfriend who worked at H&M.

“Ask her for more bags, will you? Mike wants a few Harvey items and I can’t give him those in an ordinary bag.”

“Ooh, what does he want? I should buy the same things as him!” Benjamin sounded more alive now and Donna smiled victoriously.

“You want to know? Then find out tomorrow when you come to work.”

“Damn, you’re good.” Benjamin was impressed.

“I work for Harvey.” Donna stated with pride.

“Uh, since you mention that, what do you think he exactly wants from me? You know him best. It would be nice to know what I should look out for.”

Donna shrugged. She honestly had no idea. “I don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d say he would want to use your IT skills like me.”

“Oh, that’s just great. My skills were supposed to set me free, not lead me down this dark, dark path!”

“Oh, you’re such a wuss.” Donna had had enough of it. “You’re going to wrap up your work if you’ve done any and come in tomorrow, okay? Then, you’re going to face Harvey like a man or I’m going to tell Sophie how much of a wuss you are.”

She hung up the phone and looked in her hand mirror. Yes, she had definitely aged several years in three days. What fun was it to work as a secretary if she didn’t get to know every single detail of her boss’ life? She glanced at Harvey’s office but the blinds were still down. It was likely that Harvey was just working but she had to _see_ if her puppet was actually working. ‘He pulls down the blinds way too often this week. And, I bet the coffee he got me this morning didn’t have skim milk. Gosh, I should’ve seen right through it but I was too touched that my puppet brought me something nice during such difficult times. So now I look both old _and_ fat. Great!...’

Donna bit her fingernails as she looked anxiously at the office. She could think of plenty of excuses to invite herself inside but Harvey had particularly warned her that he didn’t want anyone to disturb him when the blinds were down.

‘It’s okay. He said that he was taking away my intercom privileges only until I deliver Benjamin, right? Everything will go back to normal by tomorrow then.’ She breathed out a sigh of relief, unaware of Harvey’s plans.

 

Now that Norma had officially informed the club members that Harvey had agreed to not go after them in court, Mike was freely interacting with them in front of his cubicle. He didn’t know what exactly Harvey had asked for in return since he wouldn’t tell him but Mike was relieved that his boss didn’t do anything damaging. He did have his suspicions that Harvey must be planning other types of revenge and judging by the childish cackles he heard last night before falling asleep, it must be something rather childish.

‘Maybe he misses the days when he was allowed to pull pranks. Or perhaps my pleadings worked, hmm… But why wouldn’t he talk to me about it? Did he find out that I asked Donna for a Harvey mug and a life-size poster?’ He couldn’t continue thinking since one of the girls praised his blue eyes again.

“Haha, thanks. You have lovely eyes too.” He smiled at her and saw her blush. He felt like he became a celebrity. The girls died at his every move and hung on to his every word.

“What are you doing?” Harvey’s irritated voice froze everyone. The girls nodded their goodbyes to Mike and quickly disappeared.

“I was just taking a short break.” Mike explained.

“No, I mean what were you doing with them?”

“Huh? I thought the war was over.” Mike looked confused.

“It is. But you don’t just mingle with people who were your enemies until a few hours ago.”

“Why not? It could be a good starting point.” Mike answered with a smile.

Harvey frowned. “You don’t get it, do you? It doesn’t work like that.”

“Is that a question for me or a rhetorical one?” Mike lifted his eyebrow which reminded Harvey of himself.

“You just don’t get it.” Harvey shook his head and turned on his heel.

“Are we still on for dinner and massage at your place?” Mike asked excitedly.

Harvey opened his mouth to say that it would be better if they slept in their respective beds for once but the answer that came out was, “Yeah.”

“Great! Oh, and I wanted to ask. Do you want any Marvey stuff for yourself? I can ask Donna to pack your stuff with mine.”

Harvey gritted his teeth. His associate wasn’t just mingling with the former enemies; he was also acquiring some of their merchandise.

“Don’t you have any kind of dignity?” Harvey turned around and faced Mike.

“What dignity…?” Mike wasn’t following.

“Exactly.” Harvey swallowed bitterly and looked around. ‘Where’s that associate who always craves my attention? Alan? Aaron? Apron?’

He spotted the guy who always seemed to be near the fax and approached him, aware that Mike was following him with his eyes. “Hey, associate.”

“Oh, hello, Mr. Specter. It’s Aaron.”

“Aaron, do you think you could handle some work for me?”

Mike’s jaw dropped at Harvey asking for another associate’s help. ‘What in the world is wrong with him today? I’m right here and he goes to another associate? Aaron’s not even half as smart as I am!’

Mike narrowed his eyes at the associate with oily hair and that was when he finally got it. ‘Oh, this is about me hanging out with the club, isn’t it? He’s trying to punish me!’

When Harvey put his hand on Aaron’s back and guided him out of the associates’ area, Mike saw red. He gulped down the water on his desk and squeezed the paper cup before throwing it into the waste basket with unnecessary force.

“Mike? Is everything okay?” Harold looked up from his cubicle, startled at the sound. He had been busy ordering the same fountain pen as Harvey’s.

“Yeah, I just need to finish reading this massage book. Gosh, why is it so long?” Mike stared disapprovingly at the thick book.

“But you can read faster than anyone else!” Harold pointed out. The tone of admiration in his voice made Mike feel a little better. He was definitely enjoying all the compliments and encouragements he was getting from the club members.

“I don’t know why you’re reading that book but if you ever need a test subject, I’m all yours. I’m willing to be under your magical hands 24/7.”

Mike believed that Harold’s words were supposed to be sweet but the truth was that it crept him out. “Uh, thanks, Harold, but that won’t be necessary. I’m just trying to make Harvey feel better.”

“Oh, it’s for Harvey!” Harold almost drooled but he closed his mouth in time. It was a great relief that he didn’t embarrass himself in front of Mike. The mental images of a naked Harvey spread on a large bed with a naked Mike (he didn’t think that Mike would like to get massage oil on his clothes) straddling him while Harvey made both painful and relaxing sounds was too much to deal with.

“I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse me…” Harold rushed out of his cubicle with a flushed face and sprinted out of Mike’s sight.

‘Oh gosh… Perhaps Harvey was right. Maybe I shouldn’t mingle with them too much.’ Mike shuddered, trying not to think about where Harold had gone.

 

It didn’t take long for Mike to find out what Harvey had needed another associate for. Aaron came back with his arms full of shopping bags in an hour or so.

“Oh no, they’re already here! I thought it would take a couple of days!” Harold gasped.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Mike watched as Aaron set the bags on the floor in the middle of the associates’ area.

“Haven’t you checked your inbox? The firm is adopting several measures to improve our health and productivity.” Harold motioned for him to read the notice.

Mike opened his inbox and started to read. Given the suspicious timing of the notice, he could sense that it was all Harvey’s doing.

‘Hmm, so yoga classes are back. Twice a week with Rachel and it’s for everyone except the partners again. Damn, I can’t wait to make partner.’ He thought as he clearly remembered how much pain his body had gone through during the trial session.

“These are for you, Ross.”

Mike looked up from his monitor to see Aaron leave a pair of black sandals on his desk. “Uh, thanks.”

‘These must be the acupressure sandals.’ He figured out as he kept reading. According to the explanation, the sandals were supposed to stimulate a person’s feet and relieve and prevent various types of illnesses.

‘So we have to wear them in the office at all times unless we’re in a client meeting. Fine. How bad can it be? But if it wasn’t bad, Harvey wouldn’t have asked for this.’

“Oooww!!” Harold yelped and almost hit himself against the wall of his cubicle.

‘Okay… perhaps it’s really bad.’

Then Mike started to think clearer. ‘But of course it’s going to hurt like hell. We’re all overworked, overstressed, with no time or energy to work out or eat healthy! Urgh… but why do I have to go through all this? I’m with Harvey! Shouldn’t I be getting a special pardon or something? He can’t treat me like one of the members!’

With a pouty look on his face, he moved on to the third measure. There was going to be a senior partner-associate, junior partner-secretary bonding function on Friday evening in a fancy hotel. ‘Okay, that makes me feel better. It could be a nice working date.’

The thought of standing next to Harvey in an official function as his associate/boyfriend made Mike giddy with delight. He realized that he and Harvey had never been on a proper date. All they had done so far was spending time in Harvey’s condo.

‘Does that sweet nap at the hotel count as a date? It was nice.’ Mike remembered how happy he had been to nap in Harvey’s arms.

‘Perhaps I can ask him out this weekend. We obviously need to take it easy with Kama Sutra since he can’t keep up with me.’ Mike chuckled smugly, wondering where they could go for their date.

‘I’ll think about that later. Let’s finish reading.’ He kept his focus on the screen and read the last notice. It was about more bonding between partners and their secretaries so it didn’t concern him but he could see how it concerned Harvey, Donna, Louis, Norma, Lex and Lana.

‘Oh no, there will be drama. It’s about switching secretaries for a week so that the partners would appreciate them more when they get them back!’ Mike could see how this little bonding experience would work like a charm for Harvey. He would be able to torture both Donna and Lex by sending Donna to Louis and having Lana for himself.

‘Poor Lex. Harvey must know that Lex has eyes for Lana. He’s probably going to be sweet to her and drive Lex mad. Eye for an eye, it seems!’

Then he understood that the plan did concern him after all. ‘No, I’m not going to watch him flirt with a pretty girl! No way! What happened at the party between Lex and me was just business! He can’t hold that against me! It’s not fair!’

Mike groaned as he put on the sandals. If Harvey wanted to punish him, he would have to take it.

‘It’s nothing, really. As long as I get to be with him, I’ll do anything.’ He put on a brave face and stood up tentatively. “Oooouch!”

‘Okay, I’m not going anywhere until it’s time to go home!’ He decided as he quickly sat down. Harvey was definitely a good-looking, evil genius.

 

“My feet are burning!” were the first words that came out of Mike’s mouth as soon as he joined Harvey in the town car after work.

“Good. That means your body is healing itself. You’ll be healthier.” Harvey chuckled as he placed a kiss on the puckered lips.

“Since you’re the one with a bad back, shouldn’t you have included partners too?” Mike sat closer to Harvey despite being a little mad at him.

“I have a very confident masseur, remember?” Harvey wrapped an arm around Mike’s shoulders.

“So you do believe that I could be helpful.” Mike rested his head on Harvey’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

“I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Don’t make me regret it.” Harvey kissed the top of the blond head.

“Oh, you just wait, Harvey. After tonight, you’re going to beg me for more massages.” Mike smiled as he yawned.

Harvey couldn’t suppress a yawn as he snorted. Yawning was infectious. “I think we’ll need a nap before doing anything.”

“Getting old, Harvey?” Mike giggled but he had to yawn once more. Now that he was relaxing in Harvey’s arms, waves of fatigue were hitting him over and over again.

“No, you brat. I’m just proving to you that I’m a human being so you wouldn’t feel too intimidated.”

“Nice answer.” Mike giggled some more. He still couldn’t believe that Harvey had positive _feelings_ for him.

Harvey wanted to say something in his smuggest voice but his eyelids kept getting heavier. The car was rocking him gently and he had a warm body in his arms. He didn’t think that Mike would mind even if he closed his eyes for a few minutes.

Ten minutes later, when Ray turned around to announce that they had arrived at Harvey’s condo, the duo was fast asleep in each other’s arms.

‘Aww, how adorable.’ He took a quick picture with his cell phone before shouting gleefully, “Wake up, lovebirds! We’re at your nest!”


	20. Eye for an eye

  
When Harvey woke up, the first thing he noticed was that someone was straddling his thighs and rubbing his back with nice, warm hands. The other things that he noticed were how he was in his bed and how early it was; the alarm clock on the nightstand told him that it was 5:37 in the morning.

“Mike?” Harvey cleared his voice and called his boyfriend.

“Good morning, Harvey. Isn’t this a pleasant way to wake up?” Mike leaned down and gave Harvey a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, but why do I have to be up in the first place? It’s not even six.” Harvey groaned and closed his eyes again.

“But you’ve slept almost nine hours. Remember how we crawled into bed right after dinner? I think we fell asleep even before nine.” Mike couldn’t really remember. He had been exhausted and had fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow.

“Ah, keep doing that.” Harvey ordered as Mike worked on his lower back.

“You know, I’m willing to take a masseur test if you’re so worried about my skills.”

“You want to officially go rub someone else’s body? Not going to happen.”

Mike laughed at Harvey’s silly jealousy. He wanted to tell Harvey that he loved him but it was probably still too early. He had said it a couple of times before Harvey woke up but he wanted to say it while the man was awake.

“What’s wrong?” Harvey felt Mike’s hands slowing down.

“Nothing. I’m just wondering when you’re going to ask me out on a date.” Mike came up with a practical lie.

“Aren’t we on a date whenever you stay here?” Harvey opened his eyes.

“This is just hanging out! I’m talking about an actual date like going out for a movie. It would be nice if we could do something outside this weekend.”

“Well, what do you want to do?” Harvey let out a pleasant moan as Mike rubbed the right spot. Perhaps the kid really knew what he was doing.

“I get to choose?”

“You’re the one who came up with the idea.”

Mike was silent for a few seconds and Harvey thought about going back to sleep.

“It’s winter so we could do something wintery. Do you do any winter sports?”

“I ski and skate.” Harvey said in a sleepy voice.

“That’s great. How good are you?” Mike had learned that when Harvey knew how to do something, he did it annoyingly well.

“I’m not too bad.”

“Modest today, aren’t we?” Mike laughed.

“Nobody likes a show-off.”

“But you’re always a show-off!”

“Mike, it’s too early to have a long conversation. Let me know later what you want to do, okay?”

“But I already know what I want to do. I want to go skating. Skiing would be great too but we’ll have to leave the city.”

“Mm-hmm…” Harvey was falling asleep.

“But I don’t know how to skate. Will you teach me, Harvey?” Mike tickled Harvey’s sides to wake him up. It didn’t seem like Harvey was particularly ticklish but it still did the trick.

“If I promise to teach you, will you let me sleep?”

“Yes, I’ll leave you alone.” Mike kept working on the knotted muscles on the lower back.

“Fine. Then I’ll teach you.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait till Saturday!” Mike got excited and pressed a little hard.

“Oouch!” Harvey’s voice rang through the bedroom and Mike had to kiss it better.

 

Ever since she had come to work, Donna found herself glancing at Harvey’s office every five minutes. The blinds had been down since half past seven and she had already endured it for forty minutes.

‘This is ridiculous. He’s just working in there. Why do I feel this stupid need to see him?’

She realized that she probably needed therapy for fixating on her boss but she had no intention to spend her money that way. So she knocked on Harvey’s office and walked inside.

“Harvey? Do you know what the dress code is for tomorrow?” She already knew that it was a black tie event but she wanted to see what Harvey was doing.

“It’s a black tie event but I don’t think it concerns you.” Harvey said with a sympathetic look on his face.

“What do you mean it doesn’t concern me?”

“Well, you’re not my associate, are you?”

Donna was puzzled. “We are both insanely attractive so I get your confusion but no, I’m not Mike.”

“Then I’m afraid that you’re not invited.”

Donna thought that she had heard half of the building collapse. “What did you just say?”

“I think we both know what I said.” Harvey tried very hard not to smile victoriously. “The notice says it’s a ‘senior partner-associate, junior partner-secretary bonding function’. Senior partners have associates but junior partners don’t, so they get to bring their secretaries.”

“But I’m Donna.” Donna couldn’t think of a better explanation. She was _always_ invited.

Harvey shrugged innocently. “You’ll have to talk to Jessica if you have a problem with the company function.”

“Harvey Specter, you will not do this to me.” Donna glared. This was apparently another one of Harvey’s revenge plans.

“I’m flattered but I’m just a senior partner. You know I don’t get to make any of these decisions. You’ll have to talk to the managing partner. After all, Jessica’s the ‘Pearson’ of ‘Pearson-Hardman.’”

Donna couldn’t remember the last time that she had been this emotional. She could feel the fire burn inside her, ready to curl into a ball, leave her body, and land in Harvey’s face. But she had to keep her job; she would be too bored with her life if she didn’t have anyone to control. “Listen, Harvey. I get that you feel a little betrayed but…”

“A little?” Harvey looked _a little_ upset. “You were supposed to have my back, Donna.”

“I’ve always had your back, Harvey! I knew that Mike would be a perfect match for you even before you knew! You have your strong points but we both know that emotions aren’t one of them. That’s where I come in! You honestly think that I did it for my own amusement? Do you have any idea how many new wrinkles I got after you pretended that you didn’t enjoy Mike all night after that party? Besides, let’s face it. You don’t do anything you don’t want to do. We didn’t force you to do anything. Even when we trapped you inside the elevator, you used whatever you had in there and turned the tables on us. You got what you wanted! Oh, and I should probably tell you that your little stunt in the elevator got you some new fans.” Donna smirked.

Harvey groaned. “I don’t want any fans.”

“Aww, who do you think you’re lying to? Everybody loves having fans, especially an attorney with such a big ego like yours.”

“Just how big do you think my ego is?”

“Just a little bigger than mine.”

Harvey couldn’t help but laugh at the accurate observation.

“Listen, I know you’re disappointed that you’re not invited tomorrow. But I got you coffee again to cheer you up.” Harvey pointed at the drinks trolley on his right.

Donna spotted three take-out coffee cups and asked, “Which one is mine?”

“One has skim milk, one has regular milk, and one has… well, you don’t want to know what is in it.” Harvey rubbed his arms as if he had goose bumps.

“I’m not falling for this stupid test, Harvey. For all I know, all three of them have questionable things inside.” Donna turned around to walk out the door.

“But you want to know which one is which. Your ego might be slightly smaller than mine but when it comes to curiosity, I think it’s the other way around.” Harvey practically said the last words in a sing-song voice.

“If I want to know, I can simply walk out the building and ask Dustin. I’m sure he remembers which coffees he made.”

“That would be a great plan if I got these from him.”

Donna approached the trolley and turned one of the take-out cups. There wasn’t anything on the white cup; no brand, no alphabet that might help her figure out which cup was which.

“So are you in or out? You’re not going to back off because you’re afraid of drinking regular milk, are you?” Harvey smiled like he did in court.

Donna wanted to ignore Harvey’s words and walk away but she was _a little_ curious. She didn’t think that Harvey had really put anything harmful in the third cup. He was probably bluffing to get to her.

‘I would’ve never agreed to this if I felt well. I need to get my life back.’ She grumbled and gave her boss a small nod.

“Good. You don’t get to look inside or taste it.” Harvey leaned to his right and pulled the trolley closer to him.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“You simply watch. I’ll be kind and tell you which one has skim milk in it.”

Donna was about to ask what kind of a weird test this was when Harvey pulled a jacket from the back of his chair and put it over the cups.

“Remember. This one here is the one with skim milk.” He pointed at the cup on his left.

“Wait a minute. Is that Mike’s jacket?”

“Yes. Now focus.”

Before Donna could say anything else, Harvey started to shuffle the cups. Donna followed his hands with her eyes until he stopped.

“Which one?”

“The one in the middle.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Well, I think so.” Donna thought that it had been suspiciously easy. She wasn’t sure whether it was because Harvey sucked at these kinds of tricks or because it was intentional. She was leaning towards the latter.

“I’ll give you another chance. Which one do you want to drink?”

Donna eyed him for a second. The man surely knew how to mess with her. “I’ll still pick the one in the middle.”

“Suit yourself.” That sympathetic look was back on Harvey’s face.

“Have a nice day, Donna.” The senior partner kindly handed her the cup.

Donna took it and glared. “I hope you see scary elves in your dreams, Harvey. And, Benjamin is coming to work in half an hour so I’ll get my intercom privileges back, right?”

“Yes, as soon as I’m done with him.” Harvey was a man of his words.

Donna kept glaring at her boss and Harvey could see that she really didn’t enjoy her situation. He started to feel for her but then he remembered how she had manipulated a very important part of his life. A small part of him thanked her for her efforts but he couldn’t stop thinking that he and Mike should have taken a more natural course. ‘Perhaps that’s why I can’t tell him that I love him.’

“Enjoy your coffee.” Harvey looked down at the papers as Donna felt the urge to give him a finger. But she was a lady and she knew that whenever her puppet was done with the tantrums, her life would become normal again.

After Donna left with her cup of coffee, contemplating if she should risk drinking it or throw it away, Harvey enjoyed a few laughs and called Mike into his office.

“What did you do to her this time?” Mike noticed that Harvey was wearing his ‘Oops, I did it again’ smirk.

“Nothing. I just gave her a cup of coffee.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me that you put in something awful.” Mike sat in front of the desk.

“Why does everyone think that I’d do such a thing?” Harvey pretended to look hurt. “She got the one with skim milk just like she wanted.”

“Then what are those two?” Mike pointed at the two cups left on the trolley.

“These are for us. I played a game with Donna so I don’t know which one is which anymore. You’ll have to taste one. I’d do it myself but you put way too much sugar.”

Mike chuckled and opened the lid of one of the cups that Harvey handed him. “Mmm, this has no sugar at all. Yuk.”

Mike returned the cup and got the other one. “So that’s why Donna looked like she had a bomb in her mouth.”

“Well, it’s what she usually drinks. If she feels like it tastes different, it’s all in her head. And, thanks for the jacket.” Harvey returned the jacket with a kiss.

“Do I want to know what you needed it for? You know what. Don’t tell me. It’s probably better that way.” Mike checked his jacket if it had been harmed in any way. It was a little warm but it seemed all right.

“Whatever you want, Mike.” Harvey smiled and enjoyed his coffee that tasted so much better after a sweet victory.

 

Benjamin was standing in front of Harvey’s office, looking like he was going to face Death himself. He had already suffered from a panic attack when Donna had informed him that Harvey wanted to see him _alone_. Most of the club members would have killed to be in a room with Harvey alone but Benjamin couldn’t think of a more ominous word right now.

‘It’s a good thing that I got baptized as a baby. Mom was wise like that.’ He thanked his mom and crossed himself before taking a deep breath.

“You know he’s not going to hurt you. He probably wants something from you so you’re no good to him if you’re dead.” Donna wanted to push him inside so she could go back to her stalking days as soon as possible.

“I know…” Benjamin was sure that Donna was trying to be helpful but it only made him feel worse. He could suddenly think of many ways for a person to be not dead and still have a nightmare of a life.

“He doesn’t like to wait so get in there already.”

Donna’s disapproving stare did the trick and Benjamin knocked on Harvey’s office, feeling like he was moving from one hell to another.

“Come in, _Ben_. Take a seat on the couch.” Harvey finished writing something down and looked up.

“Uh, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to stand, Mr. Specter. You have a very soft carpet.” Benjamin forced himself to smile. He didn’t want to sit on the couch which might have thorns underneath.

“Nothing’s going to come out of the couch, _Ben_. Go take a seat.”

Harvey stood up and looked even more intimidating than when he was sitting, so Benjamin hurried to the couch with shaking legs.

“Wow, your couch is very soft too, Mr. Specter. You obviously have impeccable taste.” He said with shivering lips and that was when he noticed that the office was warm. He looked up and saw the heater on the ceiling.

‘Oh no, maybe some untraceable toxic gas is coming out of there. Maybe Harvey already took an antidote and that’s why he wanted to see me alone. Nobody else has to suffer. There are surely gases in the world that paralyzes you down from the waist, right? If he’s interested in my IT skills, he only needs my hands and brain!’

But did he really deserve this kind of a punishment? As far as Benjamin was concerned, he had only put Mike’s face in the face recognition program and had stalked him with the state-of-art security cameras from morning to night. Then, he had messed with the elevator and trapped the two without either of their consent. He had also cut out all kinds of footage of the two, again without their consent, to make gifs, screen caps, posters, and DVDs. And, then he had…

‘Okay, perhaps I deserve a little punishment.’ Benjamin swallowed as Harvey sat down across him and pushed a glass of water on the coffee table.

“Don’t even think about saying ‘I’d prefer not to drink, Mr. Specter. You have very nice air.’.”

Benjamin nodded. Harvey already knew his moves.

“What would you like me to do for you, sir?” He asked politely. As homage to his girlfriend who bravely fought against scary customers every single day, he put on his bravest face and drank his water.

“How about we start with an apology, _Ben_?” Harvey crossed his legs and Benjamin thought that he looked better in person than in his hallucinations.

“Oh right. Of course. I need to apologize.” Benjamin had never really considered himself a rapper but there he was, practically rapping about how incredibly sorry he was and how he would never do anything without getting Harvey or Mike’s consent first.

Harvey let the words go into one ear and leave through the other one. He just hoped that the guy wouldn’t choke to death on his own words because it would make him look bad.

When Benjamin had finally finished the rap of his life, Harvey pointed at the papers that had been sitting on the corner of the table. “You are going to sign this agreement which says that you are not under any kind of duress. I suggest you read it first, _Ben_.”

Harvey’s firm stare made Benjamin’s head nod on its own. Harvey lent him his fountain pen and Benjamin knew that he could brag about this to Harold. ‘At least something good is coming out of this.’

He read the agreement as fast as he could and noticed how the terms and the duration of them were vague. ‘So this must be what a slave contract looks like. But well, what’s the alternative? Go to court and leave a permanent stain on my record? No way!’

So Benjamin accepted his fate and signed his name on the line.

“Good. So here’s what you’re going to do for me, _Ben_.” Harvey leaned a little closer and Benjamin pricked up his ears, trying to ignore how the partner kept calling him ‘Ben’.

 

Gregory was writing a letter of apology to Mike, choosing his words carefully. He had come back from Rachel’s yoga class which made him wonder just how much one could suffer in the name of sport. He could use a short nap but he really needed to get the letter done before the autograph session in the evening. Norma wanted the members to give their letters to Harvey or Mike while getting their autographs.

‘Geez, if I had worked this hard, I would’ve probably made junior partner by now.’ He was pondering hard about whether the word ‘blinding’ would be an accurate description for Mike’s smile or should he tone it down and go with ‘dazzling’.

‘But you can never really tone down the beauty of Mike’s smile, can you?’ He had made up his mind to stick with ‘blinding’ when he heard a ping from his computer. He clicked on the message, noticing that it was from Benjamin:

_Hi! I’m back, comrades! And, I’m not back with empty hands! Exclusive!! Mike changing suits in the file room! Check it out NOW! I may have to take it down in a few minutes not to get caught so don’t miss your chance!_

‘Oh my god, I’ve lived for this day!’ Gregory could barely contain his excitement as his heart started to race. He could hear Harold bouncing on his seat and other comrades nearby gasping for air. Gregory gulped down some water for his dry mouth and put on his earphones before clicking on the link.

But instead of a pretty boy with fair skin peeling off his suit, Harvey Specter dominated the screen. “What did you expect to see? My associate changing in the file room?”

Harold shook his head fiercely even if the senior partner couldn’t see him. Harvey was so charismatic and terrifying.

“Listen to me carefully because I’m not going to repeat myself. If any of you losers ever touch or even look at Mike in any way that he or I don’t appreciate, I will charge you with sexual harassment on his behalf. Is that clear?”

“Yes, it’s very clear!” Harold answered in a loud voice, startling Mike who had been working peacefully in his cubicle.

“In case it’s not clear, let me rephrase it. I will wipe all the surfaces of the courthouse with you and I will enjoy it.”

“Don’t worry! It was very clear the first time!” Harold squeaked and Mike wondered if his colleague was high.

Harvey continued his announcement with a dangerous smirk on his face. “Since you all seem to be into voyeurism so much, I’m willing to let you have some fun and watch Mike change in the file room.”

Rachel felt her eyes widen as much as humanly possible. Surely, Harvey couldn’t be serious.

“Just remember. You asked for it so you don’t get to look away until he’s done changing. If you look away, I _will_ know. The security cameras are watching every single one of you. Enjoy your entertainment then.”

Everyone was confused as Harvey’s face left the screen. Luckily, it didn’t take long for the club members to realize what this was about. A very old and extremely thin man who looked creepy appeared on screen and introduced himself as Mike. Then he started to take off his suit in a room that was full of file boxes.

‘Oh geez, I think I’m going to be sick.’ Rachel wished that she could turn off her hearing. The man’s moans were high-pitched and unnatural in a way that made her stomach turn upside down. ‘Why does he even have to moan while he unbuttons his jacket??’

‘Oh Jesus Christ, does he really have to shake his body like that? It looks like he’s about to have a seizure!’ Gregory suddenly missed his yoga class. He had nothing against old men who wanted to change in front of a camera but this was too much to handle.

‘Where did Benjamin even find this? I know that internet is a scary place but oh god…’ Harold shuddered, hoping that this torture wouldn’t go on for long. But the man took as much time as possible and even did some kind of acrobatics while he was naked.

‘I’m a lady! I shouldn’t be subjected to this kind of material!’ Donna was outrageous.

‘Is Harvey willing to pay for our therapy sessions or what?’ Norma tried to think about other things but the man on the screen just wouldn’t stay quiet.

After twenty minutes of intense torture, everyone needed a drink. The members got up from their seats and this time, they were the ones who couldn’t stay quiet. “Oow, my feet!”

Harvey enjoyed the sound of agony. ‘I see that the sandals are good ones.’

He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms as he watched people head over to the kitchen, walking like penguins. Then he looked up at the security cameras and checked that they were following them as instructed.

‘Good. Eye for an eye.’ Harvey walked back into his office with a smile on his face. It was fun to do juvenile things with mom’s approval.

 

Louis was walking out of the elevator with Kyle when he sensed that something was different on his floor. He had just come back from court after battling against a tricky counsel all day.

“Do you smell that, Kyle?” He asked his protégé.

“Smell what?” Kyle sniffed the air in the office.

“The excitement! Something funny’s going on around here.” Louis narrowed his eyes and looked around as he walked to his office. He couldn’t quite figure it out until he ran into Harold holding a picture with an excited look on his face.

“What are you so happy about?” He asked and snatched the picture out of Harold’s hands.

“What are you doing with a picture of Harvey?” Louis frowned as he noticed how sickly handsome Harvey looked in the picture, working at his desk with a fountain pen between his lips.

“There’s an autograph session in ten minutes and I’m going to get Harvey’s autograph on that picture.” Harold smiled happily and got his precious picture back.

“Why is he giving out autographs? What’s the occasion?” Louis couldn’t believe that he hadn’t been aware of such an event. The only notices that he had received in his inbox had been about the team bonding function on Friday and the secretary swaps next week.

“It’s the very first official H&M event!” Harold clapped his hands.

“Harvey’s the new model of H&M?” Kyle asked. He had always known that such a day would come. The senior partner was too gorgeous to work only as an attorney.

“No! By H&M, I meant Harvey and Mike! The autographs are part of their fan service! I can’t talk anymore. I have to go wait in line. You’ll have to excuse me.” Harold hurried to one of the conference rooms, leaving Louis baffled.

Louis walked quickly towards his office and barked at his secretary. “Norma! What is this nonsense about Harvey and Mike’s autograph session? Do you know anything about it?”

“Of course. I’m the one who will make sure that the event goes smoothly.” Norma didn’t look up and kept typing away. It had been crazy for a few days and she had a lot of work to do.

“What? You’re supervising it? Why are they giving out autographs anyway? Someone said it was fan service.”

“Yeah, there’s a fan club in the office that supports their love.” Norma answered casually. She figured that the truth would be the fastest way to make him leave her alone.

“Huh…? Whose love are we talking about?” Louis knew that he hadn’t been involved in the office’s business these days but there must be something wrong with his hearing.

“Harvey and Mike are in love and we ship them.” Norma rephrased.

“You what them? You’re going to ship them out?” Louis wasn’t following.

“Louis, I’m really busy right now. Can you bother me tomorrow or something?”

Louis didn’t appreciate her tone. “Norma, you work for me. Don’t you ever talk to me like that. And, I’ll ask again. Why are Harvey and my future pony signing autographs and who exactly is in love?”

Norma stopped typing and finally looked up. “Harvey and Mike are in love with each other and I run a fan club that supports their relationship. And, as a thank you for the club to have brought them together, they are offering to give out their autographs. Happy now?”

“Wait a second. Are you saying that there are people who wish Harvey more happiness than he already has?”

“Yes.” Norma got back to work.

“But why? He already has everything he needs! He doesn’t look too bad, he’s taller than me, but thank God he’s shorter than Jessica, he has an amazing bachelor pad, and he has all those suits that make him look like a pimp! Plus, he’s a senior partner in this incredible firm and he has hair that everyone except me wants to run his hand through! And, did you say that my future pony was in love with him? This has to be a nightmare. It just has to be. There’s no other explanation. And, hey, did you say that _you_ run the damn club…?”

“Uh-huh.” Norma’s hands moved even faster on the keyboard.

Louis took a deep breath. “Okay, call 911. I’m going to have a heart attack. My own secretary has been going out of her way to wish my biggest rival happiness… right under my nose! Oh sweet Lord… I should’ve thrown her out the window when I had the chance. And, my future golden goose loves my rival? But why? He looks like a pimp! Is that what kids like these days? Mother Mary, why is this happening to me? So Harvey has someone special in his life? Without getting a restraining order or stitches in his arm? But how? And, why is he always ruining my life? Norma! Call 911 already!”

Louis gripped the edge of Norma’s desk and slowly lay down on the floor. The heart attack was going to come any second now. “Ahhh…”

Norma looked down and saw her boss alive and well. “Do you really want me to call 911? You’ll be embarrassed if they actually came when the heart attack didn’t.”

“How many times do I have to remind you that you work for me!” Louis yelled from the floor. “Call 911 or I’ll do it myself!”

“Fine. But you’re going to deal with the paramedics when nothing happens.” Norma reached for the phone.

“Hey Louis, what are you doing down there?” Harvey looked down as he passed Louis’ office with Mike.

“This is a bad time, Harvey. I’m expecting a heart attack because of you.” Louis grabbed his heart and squeezed the words out of his mouth.

“Because of me? What did I do?” Harvey was amused. Louis looked great lying on the floor where he truly belonged.

“Your existence! And everything you do! You just annoy me to death! And, how could you snatch away my future pony like that?!” Louis was losing his mind. The heart attack was running late and he didn’t want to get embarrassed.

Mike tensed a little as he heard the word ‘pony’. Harvey put his hand around Mike’s waist and enjoyed the way Louis’ eyes were about to pop out of his skull.

“Louis, if you ever refer to my future husband as a ‘pony’ again, I’ll make sure that you leave Pearson-Hardman and get to work with real ponies for the rest of your life. Understood?” Harvey walked over the junior partner’s leg and winked at Norma.

“Ooow!!” Louis’ yelp filled the hallway, covering Norma’s laughter.

“Don’t ever say that I never did anything for you! I just saved you from embarrassing yourself in front of the paramedics!” Harvey said in a loud voice as he left Louis’ sight. The paramedics now had a real problem to take care of.


	21. One's Heaven is another's Hell

  
“Ahem…”

Harvey looked up from his desk as he heard a familiar voice. His brilliant associate was standing in the doorway with a dopey grin on his face.

“I see that the fanboys and fangirls have stroked your ego nicely.” Harvey arranged the files on the desk and got up just in time to receive a kiss.

“Well, yeah, the autograph session was awesome but that’s not why I’m grinning like a maniac.” Mike put his hands on Harvey’s face and talked between short kisses.

“Ah, glad that you know what you look like. It’s always important to know yourself.” Harvey grabbed his briefcase with one hand and took his jacket from the back of his chair with the other.

“Now that you mention it, I’m apparently your future husband.” Mike beamed and thought about how happy his grandmother had been when he had delivered the news on the phone. He knew that Harvey didn’t propose or anything but he just had to tell her.

“And, how do you feel about that?” Harvey put on his jacket while Mike turned off the lights. He hadn’t really meant to drop the bomb but he certainly didn’t regret it. Louis was probably dead by now (or at least in a coma from the shock) and Mike had been smiling so hard that Harvey thought his facial muscles might stiffen like that.

“How do I feel about that? You can’t tell? I’m thrilled! I’m bursting with joy! I feel like I can run from this part of the planet to the other end of it!”

“Good.” Harvey laughed as they walked out of the office.

“But there’s one tiny problem.”

“Which is?”

“You never told me that you loved me. Don’t people usually check with each other before blurting out about marriage in front of everyone?”

Harvey was going to carry on with the conversation but a female employee squealed as they reached the elevator. Mike was worried that Linda might faint but thankfully, she was still on her feet when the elevator arrived.

The ride down to the first floor was awfully quiet as Harvey refused to feed anything squealable to the woman or to anyone else in the elevator. Harvey didn’t really know any of his fans but thanks to the same overexcited look on their faces, he could guess that they were all members of the club.

‘Great. I’ll need to ask Jessica for a ‘partners only’ elevator.’ Harvey thought as he felt the fans’ gaze roam all over his body. Mike was quiet by his side but Harvey could see him give the thumbs up to someone out of the corner of his eyes. Harvey quickly took a look around to see if anyone was trying to eat his associate with their eyes. He had made it very clear in his pop-up message that he would sue anyone who even looked at Mike in any way he didn’t appreciate.

‘Good. It looks like everyone got the message.’ He noticed as he walked out of the elevator. He was used to getting stared at by hungry eyes so he could handle it but he didn’t want Mike to feel objectified. He would have to take additional precautions regarding the matter as soon as possible.

“Good night, Mr. Specter. Good night, Mike.” Rachel smiled at her friend.

“Thanks for the autographs again!” Deb waved the autographed calendar in the air.

“See you tomorrow, Mike. Good night, Mr. Specter.” Gregory hoped that Harvey didn’t see him steal a glance at Mike’s lips.

“Sweet dreams to both of you!” Elizabeth smiled sweetly.

“I love you, Mr. Specter! Good night!” Harold was the last one to get his message across and flee the building.

“See? Like that. You’re supposed to tell me like that.” Mike somehow managed to finish his sentence between chuckles. Harvey’s expression was priceless.

“What? You didn’t know he had an enormous crush on you? How is that even possible? The whole office knows! He always makes sad yet disturbingly lustful faces around you!” Mike couldn’t stop himself from enjoying a thunderous laugh.

“I don’t even know who he is.” Harvey resumed walking.

“Are you kidding me? How many times do I have to tell you that his name is Harold? He’s the guy who occupies the cubicle next to mine.”

“Oh, I thought that was Alan.”

“Harvey, we don’t have an Alan in the office. If you’re talking about Aaron, he’s the one who helped you with those acupressure sandals. Jesus, Harvey.” Mike shook his head at the utter lack of interest Harvey showed to the other associates.

“Don’t tell me that you don’t enjoy having my full attention.” Harvey opened the door of the town car for Mike. Ray was standing right next to him but he wanted to do it himself.

“You’re right. I love having your full attention but it’s just… hilarious!”

Mike waited for Harvey to get in the car and asked in a serious tone, “By the way, please don’t harm Harold. He’s nice to me and he already has a sad life, tattooing himself with ‘H&M’. So don’t throw him out of the window or kill him with your eyes, okay?”

“You’re asking me to do an awful lot of things, Mike. You want me to tell you I love you, you want me to remember other associates’ names, and you also want me not to do what I do best!” Harvey exaggerated and told Ray to head to his condo.

“Well, if you tell me you love me, perhaps I can forget about the rest.” Mike moved closer to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around the warm waist. His head naturally came down to rest on Harvey’s shoulder.

“Do I even have to tell you when you already know?” Harvey wasn’t comfortable with the act of confessing. He had been trained for years to keep his emotions in check and lie as smoothly as possible.

“We can take a long break from Kama Sutra if you tell me you looove me. It’s just three words, Harvey. I'm sure you can do it.” Mike knew that Harvey wouldn’t be able to resist the offer.

Harvey turned his head to his left and looked at Mike with an amused look on his face. His puppy was definitely becoming a fox and a better negotiator. He could come up with counterproposals but perhaps this was a good opportunity for them to get on the ‘normal’ track of romantic relationships. After all, he had wished that they had gotten together in a more natural way. If couples that were brought together naturally said those things to each other, maybe they could give it a try. It wasn’t like Mike was going to get freaked out about it.

“Fine. I’ll think about it if you kiss me all the way home.” Much to Ray’s disappointment, Harvey pressed the button and let the partition make them disappear into their own world.

“You got it!” Mike pressed his lips against Harvey’s, shaking with delight. He could barely contain his excitement. Even when he smoked pot, he hadn’t been able to reach this kind of ecstasy. What did people say about falling in love? That they were on cloud nine? Mike guessed that this was what cloud nine felt like.

Harvey let his associate press him into the seat. They had shared many wild kisses but this one was particularly enthusiastic. If Mike was this excited about a love confession, he would have to go through with it. Harvey pulled him in closer and kissed back eagerly.

“Ahaha… Oh gosh, hahaha…” Mike had to pull back and laugh because he could almost see fate’s face right now. He had never been happier in his life and he was proud that he had made it to this day when fate had been throwing all kinds of disasters towards his way.

“You’re violating the terms, Mike. What’s so funny?” Harvey was slightly worried. Mike was almost folded in half, grabbing his arm for support.

“I thought happy endings only existed in fairy tales, Harvey.” Mike wiped a tear away with his finger. He had laughed too much. “But now I’m considering the possibility that it might actually happen in real life. In _my_ life.”

Harvey listened patiently. He could see pain that must have been hidden for a long time slowly rise to the surface of the lovely face.

“I know I cheated on exams and almost got busted for delivering drugs but back then I really believed that I didn’t have any other options. I didn’t know any better and I was so naive. My so-called ‘friends’ just wanted to use my memory in one way or another and I often let them. At least they were nice to me when they needed me.”

Harvey pulled Mike back into his arms so that he could listen to his heartbeat. His mother used to hold him that way when he was a kid. He hoped that it would bring some kind of comfort to his boyfriend.

Mike held on to Harvey and went on, “I tried to put up a brave face for Grammy because she tried so hard to give me a good home, but the truth is… I always felt so lonely. I couldn’t trust anyone completely. I had already lost both of my parents and I didn’t think that I’d survive if the people I trusted left me again. So at some point, I thought that no matter how hard I tried, I’d end up as a lonely underachiever.”

“But?” Harvey caressed Mike’s hair.

“But you were there! In that interview room! You gave me a chance at life. You gave me real hope. I never told you but I think mom sent you to me that day. I know it sounds ridiculous but I can’t think of anyone else who would look out for me in such an awesome way.”

Harvey smiled. He knew nothing about Mike’s mother but he had no doubt that she was a truly awesome woman. “I would’ve loved to meet her.”

Then he realized that this was the moment to say those words. They hadn’t reached his condo yet and they weren’t even looking into each other’s eyes but he knew it was the right moment. Mike was vulnerable right now; he was baring his soul in front of him and he needed to hear something reassuring.

“I love you, Mike. You’re not going to end up alone. You’re ending up with me. I promise you that.”

Mike was silent for a moment before he sat straight. He felt mixed emotions as he looked at his boyfriend. “You mean it? That sounds dangerously close to a proposal…”

It was Harvey’s turn to be silent. He had already decided that his future included Mike but he hadn’t planned to propose just yet. “Well, I don’t have a ring or anything so you’ll have to wait for a proposal, Mike. I just wanted to let you know that I’m not going to leave you alone.”

Mike smiled and put a hand on Harvey’s cheek. “I love you too, Harvey. And, I don’t need a ring. I never had any rings.”

“But some things are meant to be done in a traditional way, don’t you think?”

“Harvey, we have never been traditional since the moment we ran into each other. So why start now?”

“But I’d still like to pop the question properly.” Harvey insisted.

“Okay. But you know that people normally ask their other halves to move in with them before discussing rings, right?” Mike couldn’t help but start laughing again. “Gosh, we’re doing this all in the wrong order!”

“You’re right. I should ask you to move in with me first. Who knows if you’ll start abusing my place once we live together? You’ve already abused my body with that stupid Kama Sutra.”

“Oh, you never complained while we were taking up the challenge. It was always afterwards, when you allowed yourself to _think_.”

“I didn’t complain because I didn’t want to kill the mood. So will you move in with me? This weekend?”

“This weekend? But Harvey, today’s Thursday. This weekend’s in two days.”

“I know that. So yes?” Harvey kissed the tip of Mike’s nose.

“But I thought we were going skating on Saturday.”

“Well, we’re not going to skate all day. I’ll hire a moving company and I want you at my place by Sunday evening. All of you.”

“Ooh, very possessive.” Mike giggled and launched himself on Harvey again. He felt himself vibrating with enthusiasm as the car came to a stop.

“Damn, why isn’t there any traffic when we could actually stand it for once?” Mike whined when Ray opened the door for him.

“Relax, Mike. You can read the apology letters over dinner and enjoy normal sex with me. I’m sure that’s better than making out in the back of the car.” Harvey climbed out of the car and threw an arm around Mike’s shoulders.

“Hmm, I don’t know, Harvey. Do you think I could be satisfied with normal sex after all those adventures?” Mike managed to put on a serious face.

Harvey tightened his grip around Mike and growled lowly into his ear. “Yes, I think so, Mike. Because I’ll be telling you just how much I love playing with your body. I can tell you in excruciating details what I love to do to each part of you.”

Mike shuddered with anticipation as Harvey’s hand slowly traveled down his arm. “Okay, I’m totally convinced.”

Harvey noticed with a smirk that Mike had started to hurry into the building. His puppy might try to be cute but he was still the boss here.

 

The next morning, Louis marched into Pearson-Hardman with an irritated look on his face. His beloved firm had become a joke. It used to be a professional place where lawyers saved the world but now it seemed like those lawyers couldn’t even save their own dignity.

‘So this is what happens when I stop looking out for the firm.’ He moved his left forearm to see if it felt any better today.

‘If Jessica knew how much influence I had over the sanity of this firm, she would’ve chosen me for her newest senior partner. But I suppose the real heroes never get much recognition, do they?’

He walked into the elevator and scanned the group of people who joined him in the confined space. If anyone was part of Norma’s horrendous cult, he would _know_.

“What on holy earth is that thing?” He pointed at the long umbrella that Harold was groping. He could see a familiar brown eye on the ribs. He couldn’t believe that his rival was eyeing him disapprovingly even in the form of an umbrella.

“Oh, this, sir? It’s ‘Charismatic Harvey umbrella no.2’. Awesome, isn’t it?” Harold knew that Louis didn’t like Harvey but he couldn’t help but brag about his newest possession.

“Did they say it was going to rain today?” Rachel hadn’t had time to check the forecast this morning. She had been busy pondering about where she should put Mike’s autographed picture on her dressing table.

“No. But you can’t really trust the forecast. Mother Nature will send us rain anytime she wants but Harvey will always be there to protect me.” Harold answered proudly.

“Oh gosh, I think I’m getting ill.” Louis pulled out a small bottle from his briefcase as the elevator reached the twenty-eighth floor.

“It’s my heart medicine. I got it from one of the best heart surgeons in the city.” He told everyone but nobody seemed to be interested in what was going into his mouth.

Louis decided to go to his office through the associates’ area so he could see the damage for himself. Norma’s ecstatic scream from yesterday evening (while he was lying on the floor in front of his office, waiting for the paramedics to come and fix his leg that Harvey had intentionally stepped on) had made it clear that it was the first time that Harvey had referred to his associate as his ‘future husband.’

As he had expected, the atmosphere was alarming. People were drinking from mugs that had Harvey or Mike or both on them and he spotted disturbing wallpapers of…

‘Wait. Are they kissing…? When in the deepest hell did they kiss?? And, how did that end up as a wallpaper? They must’ve kissed in public! Of course Harvey’s an exhibitionist! Why am I not surprised?’

Having played a different game at the other end of Jessica’s living room, Louis had no idea when the kiss had occurred. He felt his head throb painfully. Apparently he needed to take some pills for the headache as well. ‘Oh Mother Mary… I haven’t even reached my office and I’m already dying. This is a very unhealthy and unprofessional environment. I’ll have to take it up with Jessica. She can’t possibly approve of this absolute madness.’

He took a deep breath and started to advance into the battlefield. He pretended that he hadn’t just seen Mike’s smiling face on Gregory’s belt buckle or a yellow badge on Stacey’s blouse. ‘I’m Marveyed? What does that even mean?’

Louis refused to make an educated guess. He didn’t want to use his incredible brain cells for such a degrading matter. He passed Mike’s cubicle and mourned the state of the brightest associate in the firm; the kid was humming a mushy song with a grin on his face that made him look like a complete idiot. ‘Grrr, I will not sit by and watch this firm sink!’

He walked as quickly as possible, opening his eyes as little as possible and made it to Jessica’s office. He felt like roaring like a Spartan but he was a well-respected lawyer which meant that he couldn’t do such a thing in public.

“Jessica, we need to talk.” Louis walked into the managing partner’s office only to realize that she had been talking to Harvey and Lex.

“Louis!” Harvey greeted him cheerfully from the couch. “How’s that useless leg of yours?”

Louis gritted his teeth. “It’s slightly better today, no thanks to you.”

“Hey, you were the one who called the paramedics for nothing. I was just trying to save your face. Or did you want me to step on your face instead? Nobody would’ve seen the difference anyway.”

“Okay boys, you don’t want me to give you a time-out now, do you?” Jessica intervened.

“I’d be willing to stand in a corner if you agree to paddle his bottom.” Harvey grinned.

“That’s sick, Harvey. Is that what you do to Mike?” Louis hissed.

“Oh hey, we never tried that. Thanks, Louis. Perhaps he’ll like that. He’s always up for challenges, you know.”

“I don’t want to hear about it!” Louis yelled. “I’ll come back after you’re done with them, Jessica.”

He turned around to leave but Jessica’s voice stopped him. “No need to. We’re done here.”

“What are you two doing here anyway?” Louis looked at the senior partners.

“Nothing that concerns a junior associate.” Harvey got up from the couch.

“You mean a junior _partner_.” Louis growled.

“Oh, right. My bad.”

Louis glared at the smiling cocky bastard. He so knew that Harvey had made that mistake on purpose.

After the senior partners left, Louis sat in front of Jessica’s desk. He didn’t want to sit where Harvey had sat.

“So what can I do for you?” Jessica asked.

“I wanted to update you on the state of your firm.” Louis started politely.

“If this is about the Marvey club, that club is here to stay.”

Jessica had fully expected to have this conversation but she was tired and wanted to have some quiet time alone. She had dealt with the board of directors all day yesterday and had already talked enough to get Harvey to work with Lex on a tricky case this morning. Harvey already had everything that he wanted so it wasn’t easy to give him an incentive. Eventually Harvey had agreed to handle the case if Mike got to work in his office from now on and if Lex and Ray moved Mike’s desk and the stack of papers for his associate.

Louis twitched his nose as he studied Jessica’s expressions. “I assume you’re talking about Mike and Harvey’s cult. And, if you need a hand, I’ll be glad to help you out. I know that cults aren’t easy to deal with.”

“Louis, that club isn’t staying because I can’t make it disappear. Just think of it as the chess club or any other club in the firm.” Jessica rubbed her temples, hoping that Louis would accept her decision.

“But the members of the chess club never display such sickening items in the office. I know you stay in here all day but you should go out sometime and take a look yourself. They have mugs, wallpapers, belt buckles, badges, hand towels, security blankets…”

“Well, the members of the chess club are allowed to display chess pieces if they choose to do so. And, unless you’ve got hit by one of those mugs or belt buckles, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Jessica, if you feel like you’re not capable of handling your employees, I’ll have to bring this to Mr. Hardman’s attention. I know you were in the conference room yesterday, trying to explain to the board why we had such a slow month. It’s only going to get slower if you keep allowing this kind of stupidity in the office.”

Jessica’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Let’s get something straight, Litt. I don’t respond to threats. I make them. You want to go talk to Mr. Hardman? Be my guest. But I’m the one who decides who gets promoted and if you want to keep the slightest chance of making senior partner, you better apologize and go do some work for me right now.”

Louis wanted to bark back but he wanted to make senior partner so badly. “I’m sorry, Jessica. It was the meds talking. I’ll go work hard on my cases now.”

Jessica let out a sigh as Louis hurried out of her office. Even though she was having tough days, she didn’t regret supporting the club. Harvey had always been interested in winning tricky cases but his eyes seemed to twinkle even more this morning. She had no doubt that Harvey would eventually destroy the opposing counsel and bring a smile to her face. Donna was right; it was worth investing in Harvey’s love life. Besides, she was no stranger when it came to investing in Harvey Specter. She had poured a lot of money to get him through Harvard law school but Harvey had been returning the favor nicely.

‘Hmm, dating isn’t stable enough. I have to make him seal the deal. I wonder when Mike’s lease will be up. And, perhaps he’ll like to live in a place with less glass walls. But will Harvey be willing to move?’ Jessica knew that there was still a lot of work to do but she was confident that her boy would make it to the finish line.

She picked up her phone and called Donna. She was certain that the woman would know everything about Mike’s lease and it wouldn’t hurt to order her to find some nice houses in advance.

 

“Mike, Louis wants to see you.” Rachel came up to Mike’s cubicle. Mike was arranging the last stack of papers on the floor so that the desk would be moveable.

“What does he want?” Mike looked up and locked all the drawers.

“I don’t know. I hear that you’re moving into Harvey’s office?” She asked happily. She had already heard all about it from Lex but she wanted to confirm it with Mike.

“Yeah, I told him I’m fine here but he insisted. It’s probably one of his silly jealous streaks.”

“Will you be moving into his place too?” Rachel had to ask. She prayed that the answer would be ‘yes’.

“Yeah, he asked me last night. In the back of the car!” Mike couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Oh my god, that’s wonderful! When is this going to happen? Do you need help to pack your stuff?” Rachel was disappointed that Harvey had sent the town car to be checked a couple of days ago. The hidden camera would have nicely captured the amazing moment.

“Thanks for the offer but Harvey already called the ‘pack and move’ service. And, it’s happening this weekend.” Mike thought about sharing their ice skating plans too but he wanted to keep some things just for Harvey and himself.

“Oh, Mike, I’m so happy for you. Harvey’s lucky to have you.” Rachel gave her friend a hug. She hoped that Harvey understood that she was Mike’s best friend.

“Ready to move?” Lex arrived with Ray to move Mike’s desk.

“Yes, thank you. I know senior partners aren’t supposed to do this kind of work. Sorry.” Mike felt like he should apologize for his boss and boyfriend.

“He’s not moving it under duress. There’s no need to apologize.” Harvey’s appearance had an instant impact. Everyone tore his eyes off Mike and got back to work, pretending not to keep their ears open.

“Come on, Mike. Let me show you where we’re going to put your desk.”

Mike got up with his messenger bag and followed Harvey out of the associates’ area. “Uh, Harvey. Louis wanted to see me first.”

“What for?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go find out.” Mike squeezed Harvey’s arm to tell him that he would be back soon. He could only hope that his boss would behave until he got back.

“You wanted to see me?” Mike knocked on the door of the junior partner’s office.

“Yeah, take a seat.” Louis pointed at the couch. “Do you want a cushion to sit on?” He took a good look at how Mike walked.

“Excuse me? I thought you wanted me to sit on the couch. A couch already has nice cushions.”

“If you don’t need one, then fine. I just thought that maybe Harvey punished you.” Louis shrugged as he thought about how he had accidentally given Harvey the idea to spank his associate.

“Why would he punish me? And, even if he did, why would I need a cush… Oh…” Color rose in Mike’s cheeks. He wondered where Louis got that kind of an idea.

‘Does Harvey want to try such a thing with me? Oh gosh… that’s going to be so hot. I’ll be making a mess in his lap!’ Mike tried not to picture it in his mind. He was sitting on Louis’ couch and that single piece of information was more than enough to stop the mental images.

“Listen, Mike. You’ve got to listen carefully because your whole life depends on what I’m about to say.” Louis grabbed Mike’s arm to emphasize his point.

“Okay… I’m listening.” Mike slowly got his arm out of Louis’ grip.

“Has he proposed to you yet?”

“Uh, it’s nobody else’s business but not exactly.”

“What do you mean ‘not exactly’? You’re a lawyer, Mike. You need to be precise with your words. He either proposed or he didn’t. So which one is it?”

“Well, it’s a long story. But I guess I’ll have to go with ‘no’.”

“Good. We still have hope then. Listen, Mike, Harvey’s not who you think he is.” Louis said in his most dramatic tone.

“Are you trying to tell me that he’s not using his real name or something?” Mike frowned.

“What? No, that’s ridiculous.”

“Well, you’re the one who insisted that a lawyer has to be precise with his words.”

“Do you always talk back like that when someone’s trying to save your life?” Louis snapped.

“Sorry.” Mike closed his mouth. He was curious to find out what Louis was talking about.

‘Does Harvey have a secret? Like how he didn’t tell anyone he had worked for the D.A’s office? Is he a superhero during the night? Oh my god, does he have a kid? Has he been married before? Did he use to be a woman?’ All kinds of theories ran inside Mike’s head.

“Are you familiar with any of the studies that involve a person’s taste of films and his mental stability? I assume that you don’t want to get married to someone with questionable sanity.”

“Err, I don’t think so. So this is about Harvey’s taste of films?”

“He watches gory stuff, Mike. He watches films like ‘Hostel’ without even blinking. I bet you haven’t even heard about it, but it’s downright brutal to the point that there’s something seriously wrong with anyone and everyone involved in that film, including the ones who watch it. Trust me, Mike. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life with someone who can stomach that kind of violence. You deserve someone better.”

Mike didn’t know how to respond. But Harvey hadn’t trained him for nothing. “I appreciate your concern, Louis. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll give it a serious thought and find out how often he watches that kind of stuff and how much he likes it.”

“Really…?” That was all Louis could say as Mike got up. He had expected Mike to either stand up for his boss or get freaked out, but he hadn’t expected him to be so cool about it.

“Yeah, really. Have a nice day, Louis.” Mike waved as he walked out of the office, leaving Louis sulking on the couch.

‘Eh, I’ll have to try a different approach then. It’s my sacred duty to make sure that the investments of this firm don’t fall into the wrong hands. And, I’ll be damned to see Harvey tie the knot with a decent human being. He’s getting married to a stupid gold-digger or he’s not getting married at all!’ Louis clenched his fists and finally roared in the comfort of his office.

 


	22. You reap what you sow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: harrassment in the workplace, minor injuries, creepy Seth

  
Apparently, Louis wasn’t the only one who had negative feelings towards Harvey today. Donna thought that she was quite fine with Mike moving into Harvey’s office but when Harvey pulled out the can opener and performed his pre-trial ritual with his associate, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“How could he do this to me? The can opener is our thing!” She was currently sitting in Norma’s area, raging into her cup of coffee.

“I’m sure it’s a one-time thing. He’s just trying to mess with your head.” Norma offered her another piece of chocolate cake. As far as she was concerned, nothing could make a person with a sweet tooth feel better than chocolate cake.

“It’s like my soul hurts.” Donna squeezed Norma’s arm and Norma had to swallow a yelp. The woman was stronger than she appeared to be.

Norma watched as Donna picked up her fork and dug into her second piece of cake. She couldn’t really understand why her colleague was so upset. She had worked for Louis ever since he had made junior partner but their relationship wasn’t even remotely close to Harvey and Donna’s. If Louis ever found someone who could stand him for more than a couple of months –she would be totally supportive of the creature regardless of its sex, level of intelligence, and species- and give her even less attention, she would be utterly grateful to the universe.

“Don’t get me wrong, Norma. I love Mike and I’m really happy for Harvey but I think I deserve to get treated better. Mike hasn’t even been around for a year! And, I’m the one who came up with that ritual!”

“What exactly do you guys do with that can opener anyway?” Norma had heard Donna mention it a couple of times but she had never really understood what it was for.

“Oh, I’m sorry I can’t tell you that. It’s Harvey and my little secret. Well, apparently now it’s Harvey and _Mike’s_ little secret!”

‘Great.’ Norma thought. She was being kind and supportive even though she had a huge pile of things to take care of and she didn’t even get to know what the ritual was. ‘What can you do with a can opener? What kind of a snack comes in cans? Hmm, Harvey did seem to indulge in unhealthy food every once in a while.’

She thought about how the senior partner visited a hotdog stand at least once a week. ‘I think I should have a little chat with him. He’s already ten years older than Mike. If he doesn’t want to see his puppy run off with another man on his deathbed, he should take better care of his body.’

Norma understood that the job of a matchmaker didn’t end when the couple tied the knot. The real great ones knew how to follow through and make sure that the couple spent the rest of their lives in unmatched happiness.

“Where did the cake go?” She noticed that the plate on her desk was already empty.

“Where do you think?” Donna asked back sarcastically before resenting her boss again. “And, how could he not invite me to tonight’s function? It came down as Jessica’s decision but you just know this is Harvey’s doing. He knew that I’d be offended for not getting invited and that I’d be dying to know what’s going on.”

“Don’t be upset about it. It’s not even a big event. You can go home early and enjoy the night.” Norma would have been delighted if she had been in Donna’s shoes.

“But I’m an indispensable member of Team Harvey! I’m as valuable as Mike in Harvey’s work life, if not considerably more! Harvey and I were doing fine even before Mike showed up!”

“Perhaps that’s the whole point. You and Harvey don’t need any team-bonding activities but Mike could use some help.” Norma wasn’t too sure what she was talking about. She just imagined that a healthy relationship between a partner and a secretary would be like that.

“Well, you do have a point there.” Donna felt a little better. Then she got an idea. “Hey, since you’re going to the function, do you think you can you text me every ten minutes? About what Harvey’s doing?”

Norma was at a loss for words. “Every ten minutes? Woman, why don’t you ask for a live feed in HD?”

“Aww, you’re willing to do that for me? That would be great!”

‘Okay… Perhaps their relationship isn’t as healthy as I thought.’ Norma hoped that Donna wouldn’t do anything silly such as coming to the function in disguise.

Donna finished her cup of coffee and stood up. “You know, if he’s going to carry on with this childish torture, I think it’s time to retaliate. He’s sending me to Louis next week so I’ll take advantage of that.”

“Oh, right. That’s happening next week. Sit back down then. If you want to survive a whole week with Louis, you need to learn how to deal with his body odor.”

“Oh god, I just had delicious chocolate cake and you have to bring up his body odor?”

“Well, I’m sorry but I don’t think I’ll have time on Monday morning. Lex and Harvey got this big case so they’ll be very busy. I might have to assist Lex all day.”

Donna sat back down with a dark face. She hadn’t thought that she would ever need to learn how to fight off body odors. Harvey smelled nice and Mike smelled fine except for the days when he had biked in the rain. On those days, he would smell like a wet puppy but she forgave him because he looked perfectly adorable with his wet puppy face.

“Focus, Donna. This is an important survival technique.” Norma used the tone that she normally used with her boss.

“Fine. Let’s do this.” Donna listened carefully as her colleague taught her all about how to fend off the smell of a badly preserved sausage.

 

In the evening, all the senior partners and their associates, the junior partners and their secretaries were gathered in one of the ballrooms in the Hilton Hotel. Jessica had hired a corporate team-bonding expert who would help her employees learn how to work more efficiently with their closest partners in the office. Even though Harvey had practically forced her to hold the event, she thought that it would be a good learning experience for the most valuable employees of the firm. She had arranged to have one activity before dinner and one after dinner. To encourage active participation, she had even prepared three prizes for the teams that performed the best; two days’ paid vacation as the first prize, one day paid vacation as the second prize, and a gift certificate for new suits as the third prize.

“May I have your attention please, Pearson-Hardman?” The female trainer grabbed the microphone on stage. “Let’s warm up with some basic trust exercise, okay? I think you would all agree that a solid base for a great team is mutual trust.”

People nodded and the trainer explained how the exercise was supposed to work. “For those who are standing in front, please remember that there’s nothing to worry about. All you have to do is lean back and your partner’s going to catch you at the last minute. I know it’s terrifying to not be able to see what’s going on behind you but you have to trust your partner.”

She came down the stage and helped the employees let go of their fear. She reassured them that their partners were ready to catch them and it seemed to be working well until she heard a dull thud.

“Are you serious? You were supposed to catch me! Not back off two feet!” Louis rubbed the back of his head. He got friendly with the floor far too often these days.

“I’m sorry. It was an instinctive reaction.” Norma apologized half-heartedly.

The trainer hurried over to the unfriendly pair and read their name tags. “Okay, Team Litt. Let’s try it again.”

“This time, she’s the one going down.” Louis pointed at his secretary.

“Nobody’s going down here, Mr. Litt.” This is a team-building exercise so you will have to forgive your partner.”

Louis wanted to protest but Jessica was watching him with a drink in her hand so he closed his mouth and nodded. He could surely get his revenge now that it was Norma’s turn.

“That’s very generous of you, Mr. Litt. Now to show your partner that you have truly forgiven her, you’ll be the one in front again, okay?”

“What? No way!” Louis whined while Norma shook with muffled laughter.

“I’ve heard that you have huge ambitions to make senior partner, am I right?”

“Yes, I think I’d serve the firm better as a senior partner.”

“Well, then think about it this way. This is the fastest way to get promoted, okay? And, this time your partner won’t let you down.” The trainer looked at Norma who nodded in agreement.

“Fine. Let’s do this.” Louis bravely stepped in front of Norma and leaned back… only to hit the floor again.

“Norma!! How dare you!” Louis made a mental note to contact a specialist for his sore head and back. He would have to do it himself since the woman could not be trusted.

Meanwhile, Team Luthor was experiencing a different type of problem. Nobody was falling to the ground but one of the team members was extremely unhappy.

“Let go, Seth.” Lex hissed at his associate who had his arms tightly wrapped around his torso.

“Do you feel safe, Lex?” Seth sniggered as he enjoyed the firm look on his boss’ good-looking face.

“Yes, so you can let go of me now. And, how many times do I have to remind you that it’s Mr. Luthor for you?” Lex struggled to get out of the tight grasp.

“But don’t you think it’s about time that we get on a first-name basis? You call me Seth all the time!”

“In case you forgot, Keller, I’m your boss. I can call you whatever I want.” Lex elbowed Seth in the stomach and managed to pull himself out of the creepy arms.

“Ah, feisty. I like that.” Seth grinned as he rubbed his stomach.

“This is a team- _building_ exercise, you idiot, not a team-breaking one.” Lex almost missed his junior partner days when he didn’t have to deal with Seth.

“Oh, you can call me whatever you want, boss, but ‘idiot’ is just harsh. You know, I’m very open-minded when it comes to terms of endearment. I hear that Mr. Specter calls Ross ‘puppy’. I hope that gives you some nice ideas.” Seth smiled at Lex with an expression that he hoped was endearing.

Lex frowned, relieved that he hadn’t eaten anything yet. He had no idea what had gotten into his associate.

‘Did Harvey pay him to pull this crap?’ He glanced over at Harvey but the senior partner wasn’t even looking his way. Harvey was busy gathering Mike in his arms and the eye contact that the two made put a small smile on Lex’s face. They really made an adorable couple and he was pleased that he had contributed to the making.

“Don’t worry, Lex. We can be like them too. We’ll be perfect for each other.” Seth put an arm around his boss’ but got pushed off immediately.

“If you call me Lex one more time, you’re going to have dinner far away from me at the other end of the room. Understood?” Lex left to get a strong drink before Seth could irritate him more.

 

Harvey was having a great time with Mike as they shared their dinner table with Louis and Norma. The food was delicious, Mike looked happy with his dessert, and the right people were being tortured. “Hey, puppy, does that pineapple taste as good as it looks like?”

Louis’ eyes shot up from his cheese cake to Mike’s plate. There were indeed slices of pineapple on the plate. ‘Thank god pineapple isn’t some sort of a code for dirty words.’

He was about to breathe out a sigh of relief when he spotted Harvey’s mouth hanging open. “What’s wrong, Harvey? Has your jaw finally…”

He couldn’t finish his words because the useless Mike Ross had gently pushed a slice of pineapple into Harvey’s mouth. Then the hand that had been groping Mike’s shoulder moved up to his hair and Mike let out a pleasant sound from the back of his throat as if he was a real puppy.

‘Oh Mother Mary…’ He had never seen something so sickening in his entire life; that was including the few months that he had dated a photographer who specialized in gruesome shots.

“How do you like it?” Mike asked. Louis could see Mike’s tail wagging at full speed.

“It’s even tastier than it looked. I’m sure it’s because you fed me.”

Louis scrambled to pull out the bottle of medicine from his jacket pocket. Norma was making some really strange noises next to him which made him think that those were what nightmares were made of.

‘I think I need ear plugs, not pills. Oh well, I can’t do anything about that right now.’ Louis swallowed the pills in a hurry and looked around to see if there was an empty seat at any other table. He refused to keep suffering.

“Let’s talk about our honeymoon, Mike. I think we should save our two days’ vacation for our honeymoon. What do you think?” Harvey pressed his lips against Mike’s temple. He had no doubt that they would win the first prize.

“I think that’s a perfect idea, Harvey. So perfect just like you.”

Norma made an unintelligible sound while Louis looked for a paper bag. He felt like he was going to start hyperventilating at any moment. ‘So this is what death by grossness feels like.’

While Louis saw his whole life pass in front of his eyes, Harvey reached out for the plate of tiramisu that Louis had brought but hadn’t touched yet. Louis looked like he was going to pass away any time soon and he didn’t want the cake to go to waste.

“Mr. Specter, with all due respect, I don’t think you should have that.” Norma spoke out, surprising everyone at the table. Louis waited a moment before hyperventilating. He had to see this. Maybe his secretary had finally come to her senses.

“Excuse me?” Harvey looked at the woman who scared him.

“I think you’ll exceed your daily caloric intake if you eat that tiramisu. Health is everything, Mr. Specter. I’m sure you agree.” Norma pulled the tiramisu in front of her and took a bite.

‘Whoa, she’s much more badass than I thought!’ Mike was terrified of Norma but he also felt great admiration for her. Nobody stood up to Harvey like that, except for Donna.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me. She’s looking out for his _health_ now? Seriously? Finding him love wasn’t enough?’ Louis felt every single cell of his body hurt. He didn’t know who he wanted to drive his fork into more; Harvey or Norma.

‘No. I have to get a hold of myself. I really need that promotion, damn it.’ Louis knew that if he physically attacked Harvey, he would probably end up in jail for much longer than necessary. If he was out of luck, Jessica might even let Harvey torture him in some kind of a dungeon.

“Aww, Louis. Are you shivering because you don’t have a warm body by your side?” Harvey asked as he pulled Mike closer to his side.

“Shut your mouth and drink your wine, Harvey.” Louis hissed as he shoved a fat piece of cheese cake into his mouth.

“I know you think I can walk on water, Louis, but I hate to tell you that I can’t drink while my mouth is shut.”

Mike chuckled and looked at Harvey with adoring eyes. His boss was so hilarious.

“Shut up, Ross. You laugh too easily for a decent lawyer.” Louis went for an easier prey but as soon as he had growled out, two pairs of dangerous eyes dug into his skull.

“Play with someone who’s at your level, Louis. Oh, wait. Sorry, Mike. That wouldn’t be fair to you. You’re about two levels higher than him. Will you forgive me?”

“Only if you agree to go to Paris for our honeymoon.” Mike kept his eyes on the junior partner. He had no problem getting scolded because of a mistake that he made at work but he wasn’t going to let Louis bully him just because he knew how to laugh.

“Agreed. But do you think there’s a museum in Paris that has a painting of a troll like the one that’s sitting in front of us? If so, let’s avoid that one. Bad luck.” Harvey wore his most serious face, sending Louis into a fit of rage.

“Listen to me, you arrogant… owww!” Louis howled like a wolf and grabbed his left foot. Norma kept enjoying her cake as if nothing had happened.

 

The post-dinner activity consisted of something more fun and lighter, according to the trainer, but Louis thought that it was bullshit. The trainer had handed him a black hat (Seriously, what was with Jessica and sorting hats?) with the names of various types of dances in it and out of all the dances, he had happened to pick…

“Tango. You want me to dance tango with _her_.” Louis pointed at Norma as if she was a witch who enjoyed performing black magic just to see him suffer.

“Yes, Mr. Litt. I think it’s great that you picked such an intimate dance. It’s a perfect exercise to bond with your partner!” The trainer motioned for the band to start the music and left the dance stage.

“This is ridiculous. Do you even know how to dance?” Louis approached his secretary with a doubtful look on his face.

“If you must know, I’ve had tango lessons because of my matchmaking business.” Tangoing with her boss was the last thing that Norma wanted to do but she wanted to appear as an excellent secretary tonight so that some other partner would want to work with her.

“Business? Pfft, you can’t call that a business, Norma. That’s just a hobby. Ow!” Louis was rewarded with a stomp on his foot again. Norma was wearing mean stilettos tonight.

“The only reason I’m dancing with a traitor is because I need those two days of paid vacation.” Louis informed Norma as he grabbed her hand and put his other hand around her waist. He was planning to use it the week after next when the secretary swap ended and Norma came back to him.

“Likewise.” Norma forced a smile and started to dance.

Louis glared at her as they spread out their arms and headed to his left. Norma’s fingernails were digging into his hand but he toughened it out. In return, he tightened his grip on her hand and pinched her waist with the other.

“Ouch! You son…” Norma remembered where she was and who she was talking to. It should have been no surprise that her boss would play dirty like that.

They turned their direction abruptly and headed to the other side of the dance floor, plotting how they could cause pain to each other without being too obvious.

Norma scratched the back of Louis’ hand with her nails while Louis kicked the back of Norma’s stilettos, causing her to nearly twist her ankle.

Cursing under her breath, Norma moved her hand to the back of Louis’ neck and dug her fingernails into the skin. Louis counterattacked by bumping his knees into hers as hard as he could. He didn’t want to harass a woman like this but she was the one who started!

Between the endless ‘stepping on each other’s foot’ moves and lethal glares, the abusive dance was coming to an end. Louis grinned like a rogue mole as he got ready to bend his partner back. As the band played the last note, Norma hung on to his arms and leaned back, blaming the stupid dance to include such a move. Just like she had expected, Louis shook her off and let her fall on the floor.

“Remember who you’re messing with, Norma. You should never forget it.” Louis warned his secretary as he turned around. He had finally got his revenge. But the sweet sense of victory didn’t last long as Norma’s foot tripped him over and sent him face down to the floor.

Harvey was laughing at the pair who was sprawled on the floor. He was glad that Norma seemed to be a strong woman. If it was any other secretary, Louis would have been in even more trouble. Harvey turned to his right to see why Mike was so quiet. Two minutes ago, he had been doubled up with laughter, making sounds as if he was dying. Harvey had to put a calming hand on his associate’s back so that he would remember breathing.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He could tell that Mike was nervous.

“I’ve never learned how to dance, Harvey. The only time I ever danced was at my prom. I’m not even sure if that was dancing since I was too busy looking down not to step on his feet.”

The demon of jealousy tickled Harvey with the end of its whip. “Did you end up stepping on them?” Harvey asked, hoping that the answer was ‘yes’.

“Nope. He was a pretty smooth dancer. He knew when I was about to step on his feet. I guess it wasn’t too bad.” Mike smiled, feeling nostalgic.

“It wasn’t too bad? I’ll show you how pleasant a good dance can be. Just follow my lead, okay? Just like you do at work.”

“I can do that.” Mike had always felt comfortable with Harvey’s guidance. “But what if we get some crazy dance like mambo or cha cha cha?”

“Nah, Jessica probably rigged it like the games we played at her place. We’ll get something easy enough for you.”

Mike nodded. He loved how Harvey had the ability to see several moves ahead. When the trainer called out ‘Team Specter’, he went up the stage and picked the dance. Much to his relief, Harvey was right.

“Slow dance!” Mike beamed at his boss as he waved the piece of paper in the air.

When Mike came down the stage and stepped on the dance floor, Harvey was waiting for him with a hand held out. Feeling like going to his second prom, Mike took the hand and let Harvey sweep him into his arms. Mike’s arms naturally went around his boss’ neck and Harvey started to dance to the music.

Mike tried his best not to think about his surroundings and to concentrate on Harvey and the music. After a few hesitating steps, he felt more confident and managed to glide across the dance floor with the best lawyer in the firm.

‘Aww, how wonderful.’ Seth looked at his fellow associate with envy. He wanted what Mike had with Harvey, but with Lex. His boss was the most incredible man that he had ever met and there were very few things that he wouldn’t do for him. His hands had been tied before but now that the anti-fraternization policy was gone, he could make a proper move.

“Okay, Team Luthor, you’re up.”

Lex heard the voice of a Grim Reaper. He prided himself in being the second-best lawyer of the firm (He didn’t care about what Louis Litt thought. There was a reason why he was a senior partner and Litt was only a junior partner.) which meant that he had great instincts. Unfortunately, his instincts were screaming that things were going to get even uglier.

“May I?” Seth’s eyes twinkled as much as the eyes of a dead fish could.

“Go ahead.” Lex gave him permission. He was feeling too sick to go on stage anyway.

Seth went up to the stage and pulled out a piece of paper from the hat. “Yes! Salsa!”

Lex wanted to strangle himself and pass out (or away, he wasn’t sure). Of course his useless associate would pick a horribly intimate and sensual dance. Wishing that the Reaper would take him away already, Lex dragged his feet to the middle of the dance floor. He absolutely loved Pearson-Hardman and if this was what it took to keep his job, he would have to suck it up.

As Seth skipped towards him like a kid who had too much sugar, Lex gritted his teeth and warned his associate. “If you do anything even remotely suspicious, I’m going to sue your ass. Is that clear?”

“My ass?” Seth gave him a broad smile as if Lex had promised him more sugar.

“I think I need to order you to get an IQ test first thing Monday morning.” Lex growled and realized that the music had started. It was difficult to focus on the music when all he could hear was how Seth was breathing too closely to him.

“Isn’t this lovely?” Seth ran one hand down his boss’ back while he let the other one grope his hand.

“Didn’t I just warn you? Watch your hands, Keller.” Lex tried to think about how long these pieces of dance music usually lasted.

“You need to learn how to relax, boss. What are you so afraid of?”

“You?”

“Aww. I won’t bite unless you want me to.” Seth started to lead, glad that he had followed his older sister to her dance lessons.

Lex shuddered at the mental image of getting bitten by a dead fish. He prayed that his stomach was strong enough to keep the food down.

‘Oh boy…’ Jessica wasn’t feeling too great either. She had hired a prominent expert in the field but apparently she was the wrong choice for her firm. She could smell a lawsuit close to her and she knew that it was only a matter of time before one of her favorite senior partners lost his composure.

With a sigh, she glanced at the man who had caused all this mess. Harvey was smiling widely, clearly enjoying the show. The creases around his eyes were coming out in full force which didn’t happen often enough.

‘At least someone’s having fun.’ Jessica decided that if she ever felt the need to conduct team-bonding activities again, it should be done by watching visual aids in the conference room.

She forced her eyes back to the dance floor and it was then when Seth’s hand landed on his boss’ ass.

‘Here it comes...’ She braced herself for the thundering voice.

“Seth Keller! I’m going to sue your miserable ass and get another associate!” Lex’s angry voice shook the room and Jessica closed her eyes. It had never been easy to be a managing partner but she felt that these days were particularly challenging.


	23. A real-life soap opera

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Harvey's harsh on Louis!

  
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the Rockefeller Center ice rink. Everyone seemed to be having a great time on the ice but there was one guy who couldn’t bring himself to get on the ice to begin with.

“Mike, you’re the one who wanted to come out here.” Harvey pointed it out in case the genius had forgotten. They had enjoyed a light lunch near Harvey’s condo and had come out on their first outdoor date.

“I know, I know. Maybe there was something in the pasta. My foot isn’t cooperating.” Mike checked his laces on the skates once again just to be sure.

“Yeah, I’m sure there was something in the pasta.” Harvey couldn’t help his sarcastic tone.

“Hey, do you know how sharp these blades are?” Mike pointed at the bottom of his skates. “If you fall and someone skates right through you, they can cut right through your fingers!” Mike had always wanted to try skating but he had never got the chance. However now that he was actually wearing skates, he was getting cold feet. (Well, literally cold feet as well.)

“Neither of us needs that information, Mike. I don’t slip on ice and you won’t either.”

“How can you be sure? It can happen pretty quickly!”

“Because I’ll be there to catch you. I promised that I’d teach you how to skate, didn’t I? Now as if you may have noticed, when Harvey Specter teaches you something, you’re bound to learn it quickly and well.”

“Wow, I see we’re feeling very modest today.” Mike grinned.

“I’m just telling you what’s exactly going to happen.”

“Yes, I do see a crystal ball in your hands.”

Harvey tapped the tip of Mike’s nose with his gloved hand. He wasn’t going to let their first date turn into a disaster.

“You should know that you’re lucky to be dating the best closer in the city.” Harvey stretched his arms.

“Yes, thank you, Harvey, but I already got the modest memo earlier.” Mike didn’t want to keep acting like a smartass but the nervousness was getting to him.

“You’re welcome.” And, with those words, Harvey wrapped his arms around Mike’s waist and lifted him off the ground.

“Harvey! What are you doing?” Mike held on to Harvey’s arms.

“What do you _think_ I’m doing?” Harvey took a few steps to the entrance of the ice rink.

“But I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own! You can put me down!” Mike could see people giving him weird glances. They were probably wondering why a grown man needed so much help to get on the ice.

“Well, apparently you’re not. And, people are going to stop looking at you if you stop screaming, Mike.” Harvey put down his boyfriend on the ice and held out his hand.

“You’re not going to let go of me, right?” Mike asked as he clutched Harvey’s hand.

Harvey chuckled. “Do you want it written on your gloves? I won’t let go of your hand, Mike. Haven’t you learned anything from the team-bonding exercises yesterday? You have to trust me.”

“I trust you.” Mike answered immediately.

“Good. Let’s give it a try then.”

Harvey started to skate slowly, enjoying how the ice felt under his feet. He hadn’t been on the ice in years. The last time that he had skated was when Scotty had wanted to celebrate her maintaining the top position in class.

“Oops!” Mike’s left foot slipped but Harvey caught him in time.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Harvey gave Mike’s arm an affectionate squeeze and resumed skating. There were a lot of people in the rink but they still managed to secure enough space to skate freely. (Mike thought that it was only possible thanks to Harvey’s scary glares.)

“Hey, now that we’re going stable, I think I’ll stop wearing those acupressure sandals.” Mike studied Harvey’s face as they slowly made a left turn.

“What does that have to do with us? You’re an associate. You can’t just disobey the company rules.”

“But they’re _your_ rules! You came up with those purely for your own pleasure!”

“I’m hurt, Mike. You don’t think I’m concerned about your health.” Harvey gave his best performance but Mike wasn’t having any of it.

“Look. I’m willing to keep suffering in Rachel’s yoga class because she told me that I had potential but I’m done with those obnoxious sandals.”

To emphasize just how serious he was, Mike let go of Harvey’s hand and eagerly skated forward until his useless left foot hit the ice in a wrong angle and made him land flat on his ass.

“Ow…” Mike rubbed his ass and was immediately reminded of the new activity that he and Harvey had tried out last night.

“That should teach you a lesson.” Harvey smoothly skated towards his boyfriend and smirked at the pink flush that spread across his cheeks.

‘Oh god, falling on my ass isn’t supposed to be this hot.’ Mike tried to stop thinking about the delightful spanking session. An ice rink wasn’t the best place to get aroused.

“Give me your hands. Let’s get you back on your feet before it gets embarrassing.” Harvey offered his hands while Mike wondered if Harvey was talking about him sitting on the ice or getting a hard-on.

Mike shot up from the ground and came face to face with Harvey. He wondered what his boss thought about public display of affection outside the office. Since their lips were only a couple of inches apart, he wanted to kiss him but if it wasn’t allowed, he didn’t want to push it and ruin their date. Thankfully, Mike didn’t need to think too much. Harvey swiftly pressed his lips against Mike and skated away.

‘Okay, that was kind of romantic.’ Mike let a small giggle leave his body. The air was refreshing, the music was energizing, and his boyfriend was skating elegantly like the Swiss figure skater Stephane Lambiel.

“Let me teach you so you won’t get spanked by the ice again.” Harvey stopped right behind Mike and whispered in a low voice, “I’m the only one who gets to spank you, puppy.”

Mike shivered and nodded.

“Good. Spread your arms so you can keep your balance and let’s push slowly.” Harvey grabbed Mike’s waist from behind and guided him forward.

Mike did as he was told. Perhaps if he learned how to skate properly, he and Harvey could do one of those romantic figure skating routines for beginners. Just the thought of doing something artistic with Harvey made him giddy.

“Stop checking out the cute guys and focus, will you?” Harvey noticed the giddiness even though he couldn’t see Mike’s face.

“I didn’t check out any cute guys! Wait. How do you even know there are cute guys here?” Mike turned around and narrowed his eyes at Harvey.

“Don’t worry. I only have eyes for the one in front of me.” Harvey kissed Mike’s forehead right below his winter hat.

“I hope so because you already paid for the ‘pack and move’ service! I’m moving in with you tomorrow whether you like it or not!” Mike’s dramatic tone made Harvey laugh.

Then Harvey did something that Mike had never expected him to do. He pulled out his cell phone from his jacket pocket and took a picture of himself kissing Mike on the lips.

“Aww, Harvey…” Mike loved how affectionate his boyfriend was. It made him happy that Harvey wanted to keep a picture of their date. He had a feeling that Harvey had a whole lot of untapped romanticism hidden inside him and that he was the only one who had access to it.

As Mike skated forward again with one of Harvey’s hands firmly around his waist, Harvey texted Louis the picture that he had just taken. He knew that Louis would delete it as soon as he checked his phone. Harvey wished that he could see Louis spontaneously combust or burst into tears and go back to his planet. It would surely be a sight to behold.

‘Hmm, from what I’ve seen yesterday, he might have a higher tolerance than I think.’ Harvey pondered for a moment before he decided to gather more combustible material.

“I love you, Mike.” Harvey spoke after he had hit the recording button on his phone. He could make his boyfriend happy and destroy his most annoying opponent with a simple truth; it was a win-win situation.

“Love you too, Harvey.” Mike responded with dreamy eyes.

“We’re going to live happily ever after while Louis burns in flames. But make no mistake, Mike, even the flames don’t like him.”

Mike laughed into the cool air and Harvey hit the stop button. He didn’t want to think about Louis on a date so he turned off his phone and gave his full attention to Mike.

 

On Monday morning, Louis was wearing a face of a true warrior as he marched into the office. He was wearing earphones under the earmuffs – a double protection system- as he bravely headed towards his office. Of course he could take the other route that didn’t include the associates’ area but he liked to think that he was strong enough to go through this. He had also wanted to wear blinkers so that he would only see what he needed to see but apparently they didn’t make those things for human beings.

‘All heroes get tortured by lowly souls. It’s just fate.’ With an opera singer performing solemnly in his ears, Louis took step after step with great difficulty.

“Good morning, Mr. Litt. What’s wrong with your legs?” Aaron asked, pointing at the junior partner’s legs but Louis couldn’t hear what he was saying. So he answered, “Charcoal!”

Aaron walked away, giving him a strange look but Louis dismissed it as jealousy over his perfectly tailored pants.

Even in the middle of such agony, Louis noticed that Mike’s cubicle was empty just like Norma had told him before she left last week. ‘Great. Now I have to get through Harvey to give him some of my work.’

Making a sound of disapproval with his nose, he dodged the coaster with Mike’s face on it that Gregory was showing off but couldn’t look away in time as Harold wiped his forehead with a Harvey handkerchief.

‘Oh Jesus, is he serious? It’s December! There’s nothing to wipe off other than his utter ridiculousness of spending money this firm has gratefully given him on such an outrageous product!’

Louis started to move quickly as he realized that all the Marveyness in the air was making him sick. He put two fingers on the side of his neck to check his pulse as he bulldozed through the battlefield. Even with the music numbing his ears, he was having a strange sense of déjà vu. The only thing different from last Friday was the scenery in front of his office. It was the long-awaited secretary swap week and Donna was sitting in Norma’s area, looking as beautiful as ever.

‘Ah, every hero has a lady that helps him get through all the obstacles. When the door slams shut, God indeed leaves a window open.’ He smiled at the red-haired woman and approached her desk.

“Oh my god, since when did Goddesses start to grace our humble office with their presence?” Louis shielded his face against the blinding beauty of his new secretary.

“Good morning, Louis. There’s no need to try too hard and make me feel nauseous. You know I’ll be back with Harvey in a week.”

“Oh, but you see, that can be arranged if you’d like to get some… let’s say _proper_ treatment. It’s something that you rightfully deserve but Harvey wouldn’t give you that, would he? Unlike that ungrateful bas… man, I know just how much you contribute to this firm. I actually pay attention to your efforts, Donna. When you got sick and missed work, I could totally see how it affected everyone’s work.”

“You lurking around in front of your own office affects my work, Louis.”

“See? That’s the spirit. You refuse to have a friendly chat even with your boss when you’re on the job. That’s why I admire you. That’s what all the other employees should learn from you.”

“Go inside your office right now, boss, or I’ll make you work during lunch time.” Donna looked up and gave her new boss a pointed look. She ignored the shudder that seemed to run through the man’s body and got back to work. She already missed Harvey’s pleasant and slightly flirtatious greetings.

‘Nah, he’s been acting like a brat. It’s great that I get to spend some time away from him. Hopefully he would’ve come back to his senses when I get back.’

Donna wondered if Lana would be able to deal with Harvey for a week without bursting into tears. She thought that Lana would probably feel like Harvey’s a very tough boss, compared to Lex who was completely in love with her.

‘Hmm, should I be worried that she might get too attached to Harvey? Once you get to know him, there’s really nobody like him.’ Donna thought about all the times that Harvey had been kind and considerate. He even had a great sense of humor which made her laugh when she was no easy laugher. He obviously had great taste in people too if Mike and herself were any indications.

‘She’s going back to Lex, no matter what.’ Donna had no doubt that Harvey wouldn’t want to spend another second with another secretary if he could have her back. Harvey was loyal like that.

‘Oh, Harvey…’ Donna’s thoughts were brutally cut off by the beep on the intercom. Apparently Louis had something left to say.

“What is it?” Donna asked as she pressed the button.

“Donna, if you need anything, _anything_ at all, feel free to let me know anytime. Okay?”

“Thank you, Louis. Since you asked, I really need you to stop bothering me so I can do my job.” Donna could hear Louis’ pleasant laughter through the intercom and wondered what she had done to deserve such punishment.

“Oh, you and I are going to make an excellent team, Donna. I eagerly look forward to saving lives with you.”

Donna wanted to point out that he was a lawyer, not a surgeon but it seemed pointless. She had seen out of the corner of her eyes that Louis had two more pictures of himself displayed in his office. If the sad man needed to believe that he saved lives to get through every day, she would have to let him.

‘Hmm, I wonder what Harvey’s doing right now. He’s the only one who probably saves lives around here. I remember he and Mike got this big case that needs Lex and Seth’s help.’ Donna tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently before deciding to debrief Lana twice a day on what Harvey Specter did all day.

 

An hour later, Harvey was getting coffee in the partners’ kitchen with a smile on his face. He had spent a meaningful weekend with Mike that had brought them closer and Mike had moved in with him without any complications. He hadn’t shared his space with another person in a very long time but Mike had been spending most of his evenings at his place and Harvey found out that Mike was not an intrusive presence.

‘At least I have plenty of space if I ever feel like it’s too much.’ Harvey told himself and got another mug for his boyfriend when he heard footsteps of a lunatic get closer and closer. The door to the kitchen closed and the lunatic addressed him in a serious voice, “Harvey.”

“Louis?” Harvey looked at his colleague in mock shock. “What happened? You came back from the dead? You didn’t like it down there? Or wasn’t Mike and my love strong enough to finish you in the first place? It’s my bad. I should’ve known better. After all, cockroaches never go down easily. Do you know why they die when you cut their heads off?”

“Duh, because you’ve cut their heads off.”

“No. It’s because they can’t get any nutrition.”

“Gosh, that’s disgusting.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Harvey grinned as he added another spoon of sugar in Mike’s coffee.

Louis dismissed Harvey’s accusations as a part of his daily routine and got straight down to business. “Harvey, I know you and I have had our differences in the past but I think we’re mature enough to give each other advice when it really matters.”

“You think I put too much sugar in Mike’s coffee?” Harvey tried to keep his face straight but the creases around his eyes gave it away.

“Harvey, I’m serious.” Louis crossed his arms across his chest and glared at his rival. He would never admit it out loud but it seemed like love was making Harvey’s face look even better. He hadn’t even thought that it was possible.

“What are you trying to say, Louis? Or did you just want to ogle me exclusively? Unlike you, I don’t do favoritism. I have to give that chance to the whole firm. You know about my fan club, right?”

“It’s not _your_ fan club, Harvey. I bet 90% of the members are Mike’s fans.”

“Do you want me to tell you all about the Harvey merchandises they make? It’s a pretty impressive product line, I must say.”

“Oh god no. I’ve seen more than enough of those.” Louis shuddered in disgust. “I just came by to tell you that you should think twice before getting married. Have you never heard of the saying ‘Marriage is the end of a man’s life.’ or ‘Marriage is death to a love affair.’?”

“Louis, are you trying to look out for me? Please don’t do that. It gives me the creeps.”

“Can you be serious for a second? You can’t get married!”

“I know you’ve been busy entertaining abusive women but Mike and I _can_ get married if we want to. We happen to live in New York! Oh, and the book that you so subtly left on Mike’s desk? I gave it to Bob on the twentieth floor.”

“Why would you do that? You can’t confiscate Mike’s belongings just because you’re his boss.”

“You mean boyfriend.”

“No, I mean boss.”

“But I’m his boyfriend too.”

Louis growled and rubbed his arms to make the goose bumps go away. “Oh, you should know that I gave the sickening material to Jessica.”

“You ran to Mommy with it? Why would you do that?”

“Why do you think? So you’d stop harassing me.”

“But you always have fun when I harass you. You get off on pain and humiliation, don’t you?”

Louis huffed and puffed. “What is wrong with you? That’s sick!”

“Well, it’s your kink, not mine.”

“Uh, sorry, am I interrupting? I can come back later if that’s the case.” Lex felt the need to ask as the first word that he heard when he came through the door was ‘kink’.

“It’s fine. Louis was just trying to overshare with me, talking about his twisted kinks.” Harvey answered with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“But those were _your_ twisted theories!” Sometimes Louis couldn’t believe what went through his rival’s head. Perhaps he wasn’t that brilliant after all.

Harvey ignored the reddening creature and told Lex, “When you’re ready, get your associate and come to my office. Mike and I are ready to go over the case with you.”

“Okay, we’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“What case are you working on?” Louis had to ask. He was always curious about Harvey’s cases. He believed that the more he knew about his rival, the more advantage he could get over him. And, if it was a case that he could handle better, he was going to go straight to Jessica and fix things for the sake of this firm.

“I thought we went over this already, Louis. But since your memory seems to be deteriorating, let me remind you that it’s a case that doesn’t involve junior partners.”

Harvey exchanged nods with Lex and left with two mugs of coffee, ignoring Louis’ frustrated roar. He had never heard that cockroaches liked to roar but you always got to learn something new each day.

 

Mike was happily working in his new nest while Harvey was on the phone. It was certainly not the first time that he was listening to his boss handling clients on the phone but it felt different, belonging in Harvey’s office with his voice filling the room like a soft piece of music. He laughed quietly when Harvey made funny jokes and paid attention when Harvey smoothed the ruffled feathers of the clients.

‘This is even nicer than I imagined.’ Mike sipped his coffee and turned to his right to admire the view of the city. His desk was in the corner of the two windows and he loved how he got some natural light to work with.

Mike was appreciating his situation with a smile on his face when he suddenly got pulled up by his tie. His eyes shot up to see what was happening and the last thing that he saw before his eyes closed shut was Harvey’s grinning face coming closer and closer.

“A little warning, please?” Mike demanded after Harvey kissed him rather playfully.

“Where’s the fun in that? Plus, we don’t have much time. Lana will be back any minute.” Harvey leaned down again.

“Do you mind her seeing us? I’m pretty sure she’s not homophobic.” Mike voiced his opinion between light kisses.

“That’s not the problem. I don’t want her to think that I can be more interested in my associate than in my work.”

“Ah, very professional.” Mike grabbed Harvey’s arm and squeezed in one more kiss before Lana came back.

As he walked back to his desk, Harvey saw that Lex and Seth had joined Lana in her area. He observed the interactions among the three people that constituted Team Lex. It was like watching a soap opera; Seth only had eyes for Lex who only had eyes for Lana who… well, Harvey wasn’t too sure whom the woman wanted. Even with excellent people-reading skills, women could be very tricky to read.

“Lex, I’ll have to start billing you if you waste another minute of mine.” He announced through the intercom to save the face of his fellow senior partner. At this rate, Lex was going to throw himself at his secretary’s feet.

As Lex and his associate walked into the office and took a seat on the couch, Mike noticed how puffy Seth’s eyes were.

“What happened?” He asked, wondering if someone as kind as Lex was capable of making a grown man cry. But then he was one of the best sharks in the city so he probably was.

“It’s none of your business.” Seth hissed but it was loud enough to get the senior partners’ attention. Both men’s stares were so scary that Mike hoped Seth wouldn’t wet his pants. Harvey would have to change his couch and charge him if that happened and Mike didn’t want to know how much it would cost.

“Miss Pearson talked to me about unwanted sexual advances in the workplace.” Seth started talking with a slightly pale face. “She told me that if she hears another word about it, she’ll send me to the mail room and make sure that Lex files a restraining order against me.”

Now everyone’s eyes were on Mike.

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that.”

Then he realized that Seth wasn’t the victim here. “Uh, well, just try to be careful.”

Seth sighed and added, “She wasn’t in a good mood because Benjamin had insisted that he had suffered an industrial accident.”

Now everyone’s eyes went to Harvey who shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t do anything. It’s not my fault if he had a mental break down on his own.”

Nobody said anything for his own sake but everyone had no doubt that Harvey was the one to blame.


	24. Surviving the difficult times

  
“Okay, sir. Everything’s set.”

“Thank you, Benjamin. You’re a lifesaver.”

“No problem, sir.”

Benjamin smiled politely and left the oldest senior partner’s office with a pale face. The partner had asked him to install a piece of software on his laptop which was a simple task, but he had to fight off the weird mental images that kept crawling into his mind. He was still suffering from the aftermath of watching so much old men porn under Harvey’s orders and he couldn’t help but replace one of those moaning faces with the old senior partner’s face. Now that he thought about it, he was grateful that an old man named ‘Mike’ had uploaded a video of himself changing in a room full of files (otherwise who knows what Harvey would have done to him?), but going through so much porn that he wasn’t comfortable with had clearly done some damage.

At night, he dreamed about old men moaning and when he saw old men on the street, he found himself automatically picturing them changing in a file room. His girlfriend had told him to consider it as an opportunity to work on his mental strength but it was easier said than done. She had even bought him a nice sweater from H&M to cheer him up but there was only so much that a sweater could do.

Old men porn wasn’t the only thing that troubled poor Benjamin. He also dreaded it when Harvey called him into his office. Harvey treated him well, except for calling him ‘Ben’, but Benjamin thought that he might actually feel better if the senior partner barked at him and got it over with. Even though Mike’s presence assured him that he wouldn’t get harmed, trying to work on Harvey’s laptop while he watched him like a hawk made him extremely uncomfortable. It felt like Harvey was going to bark the second he pressed the wrong button or left a speck of dust on his immaculate desk, and the tension was killing him.

He had experienced many unfortunate accidents in the office due to this tension. He had burned his tongue on his coffee in surprise when he hadn’t checked the extension number before answering Harvey’s call. He had gotten bruises on his legs for bumping into the desk when a colleague informed him that Harvey needed to see him right away. And, in the attempt to get to his office as fast as possible, he had walked quickly, only to get his legs entangled and land face first on the floor which gave him a sore jaw. Then, there was one day that he had rushed to the elevator because Harvey’s boyfriend had asked him to help him figure out what was wrong with his USB device. By the time that he had reached the elevator, the doors had already started to close so he had put his left arm between them, just like he had seen in the movies. Apparently those guys in the movies had thicker bones and bigger biceps than him because he had thought that he was going to lose his arm that day.

He knew that Harvey had been kinder to the fan club since Mike had started to work in his office. He let them gush about him while he waited for the elevator and signed a few items when he was in a good mood. But Benjamin also knew that Harvey was still the best shark that the firm had ever produced. The Marveyed had started a study group in which they gathered once a week to study and praise Harvey’s courtroom victories. Benjamin wasn’t a lawyer so he wasn’t in the group, but one of the lawyers who managed to crash his computer every single week told him all about Harvey’s scary sides. It was like listening to those tales of heroes who saved villages so many times that one had to assume that they must have saved a few dozen countries in total. Benjamin had no intention to be on the opposite side of Harvey, so whenever he got to see the man in person or talk to him on the phone, he made sure that he was extra polite and helpful.

As if fate was messing with him, he ran into the senior partner several times a day. At this point, Benjamin could even tell that Harvey was coming just from listening to his footsteps. (He thought that if sharks had feet and could walk, their leader would sound exactly like Harvey.) Again, Harvey just greeted him casually and minded his own business but Benjamin found himself on full alert. All his life, he had been a nerd and a geek that nobody really paid attention to. At some point in his life, he had even wondered if he had finally succeeded in inventing an invisible cloak. So to have the best lawyer of the firm constantly acknowledge his presence was both incredibly awesome and overwhelmingly intimidating.

Harvey wasn’t the only one that Benjamin had to look out for. Mike didn’t scare him at all but since he worked in the same office as Harvey and happened to be his boyfriend, Benjamin knew that Harvey would know all about his services to Mike. He also thought that if he could get on Mike’s good side, perhaps he could ask Mike to tell Harvey to use the services of someone else in the IT department. So he tried to help the genius whenever he got a chance. He had opened doors for Mike (even in the men’s room) and had helped him hack into a secure database for his case research and covered his trail. But when he had carried heavy file boxes for him which landed on his feet and broke one of his toes, that was it. He couldn’t handle the injuries anymore and had gone straight to Jessica.

Much to his surprise, when he had finished telling her what he had gone through, the managing partner had looked him up and down and accepted his request. He had already asked Lex to represent him if things got difficult but apparently he didn’t need the lawyer’s help. Either the firm was more generous than he had thought when it came to compensation for industrial accidents or he looked that awful. Whichever reason it was, Benjamin was happy to get a check written right away. The money was enough to cover his medical expenses and book a nice hotel room for a night. He was planning to spend a romantic weekend with his girlfriend and forget all about the frightening times.

 

“May Marvey bless you.”

“Thanks, Donna. Such kind words.” Irene put a hand on her heart with a grateful smile before heading back to her desk.

“You’re welcome.”

Donna smiled warmly at one of the club members who had just put some money in her red charity box. Norma had assessed that the pace of Harvey and Mike’s relationship was much faster than the usual ones (Donna wasn’t surprised; her boys might have started dating only a few weeks ago but they had fallen for each other the day that they had met.) so she had suggested that they should do something to help them avoid a ‘period of ennui’. The club had come up with the idea of getting toys for the boys and that was why Donna had a big charity box on her desk. Rachel had coaxed Mike into revealing that they had stopped consulting the Kama Sutra so it really was the perfect gift.

‘I don’t work for Harvey this week so he doesn’t get to whine.’ Donna thought cheerfully as she looked around and caught the sight of a potential prey innocently walking down the hallway. She was about to lure him closer when Louis walked out of his office. He glanced at the red box with curiosity before slowly clapping his hands.

“Doing some charity work for Christmas? That’s noble. Donna, you are…”

“I know. I’m the queen of all queens, the goddess among mortals, and the only one who can terrify you by mentioning a simple date. What do you want?”

“Oh, I just thought that I could invite you to lunch.” Louis gave her his most eager smile that gave Donna the wrong kinds of goose bumps.

“No thanks, Louis. I already have plans for lunch.”

“Okay. Then how about dinner?”

“Sorry, I have plans for dinner too.”

“Tomorrow lunch then?” Louis had meant to invite her to a glorious meal since Monday but he had been busy getting a follow-up on his forearm and being pulled into last-minute client meetings and so forth.

“I have plans for the rest of the week, Louis. I’m sorry.”

Louis got the message but he wasn’t going to back off without a fight. It was already Wednesday and he only had a couple of days to persuade Donna to keep working for him. “Let me know if your schedule opens up, okay? In the meantime, I’d like to help you with your charity work.”

As Donna looked up with suspicious eyes, Louis took out his checkbook from the inside pocket of his jacket and wrote down a big number. He made regular donations to charity but had never donated this much on a single day. However, he would like to consider it as an investment to keep the best secretary on the planet for a longer period of time.

“Would this be enough? Of course I understand that there can never be ‘enough’ when it comes to donations.” He showed the check to Donna whose eyes grew impossibly wide. Louis smiled victoriously and happily put the check inside the box.

“Wow, Louis, thank you. I didn’t think that you’d be so generous.” For once, Donna sincerely meant what she said.

“You’re welcome. I just want you to know that my heart bleeds for boys that have been less blessed than me. I always try to give back to the society whenever I get a chance. My mother raised me right that way.”

“I’m sure she did.” Donna wondered when Louis was going to realize what he had actually paid for.

“I do have one question though. Exactly what kinds of toys are we talking about? If I may make a suggestion, I think LEGO would be a fantastic choice for boys.”

Donna raised her eyebrows and for a split second, Louis thought that he had seen a female Harvey. “I have no idea what Mike likes in bed, Louis, but I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t appreciate the pointed edges of the LEGO bricks.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Louis wasn’t following.

“I’m saying that Mike would probably like something other than LEGO.” Donna batted her eyelashes innocently.

Sensing that something was horribly wrong, Louis lowered his gaze and read the sign on the box again: _Toys for boys. Everyone deserves a happy Christmas!_

“Oh sweet Jesus and his mother Mary… Boys are _those_ boys? And, toys are _those_ kinds of toys…?” The veins in Louis’ neck throbbed dangerously and the junior partner hurried to take out his heart medicine from his pocket.

“Take the drama down a notch, will you? You’re only going to overdose if you keep popping them whenever you feel like it.”

Louis stopped breathing dramatically with a shocked look on his face. “You think I _enjoy_ taking these pills? Can’t you see that I’m in severe distress?”

“Can’t you see that _I’m_ in severe distress?” Donna asked back, pointing at herself and then at her boss. Why couldn’t Louis walk away with pride swelling in his chest like a normal person?

Louis growled and tossed a couple of pills in his mouth. “Can I have my money back?”

“Nope.”

“Please…?” He didn’t care if he sounded like he was begging. The thought of his hard-earned money going into Harvey’s sexual pleasure made him want to tear down the whole planet.

“I’m sorry, Louis. It’s just not possible.”

“Why not? I should be allowed to change my mind if I want to.”

“You didn’t check the sign properly before donating? I thought the message was clear.”

Louis looked at the box again. That was when he spotted the fine print at the very bottom of the box: _Non refundable_.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. How was I supposed to see this?”

“You saw it now.”

“Only because you told me to!”

“Louis, you’re a lawyer. You’re supposed to read the contract before signing. Do I have to hold your hand while you read a few words? Even Mike can do that by himself.”

“I don’t care what Mike can do! I just want my money back!”

Louis’ yell scared a few people in the hallway and Donna took it as her cue to move the box to a secure location before Louis tried to get his money back. She had planned to raise money until the end of the week but the junior partner had kindly saved her the trouble.

‘Perhaps I can work another day for him.’ She thought as she headed down the stairs with the box safely in her arms.

‘Nah, Harvey would become a mess if I do that. Oh, what would the poor thing do without me?’ Donna smiled at the thought of her real boss and looked around, making sure that nobody was following her.

 

Donna was heading back to her area after cashing Louis’ check when a familiar voice called her. “Donna!”

She turned around and saw Harvey’s puppy wagging his tail with a bright face.

“Mike!” It was nice to see a good-looking face for a change.

“What is that you have?” She pointed at the framed certificate in his hands.

“Oh, Team Specter won the first prize in Friday’s team-bonding exercise! Harvey just made me fetch it from Jessica’s office.”

“That’s wonderful!” Even though she hadn’t been part of the function, as a valuable member of Team Specter, Donna was glad to hear such delightful news.

“I know! We’re going to hang it in his office so that clients can see it.” Mike told her proudly.

“I think that’s a great plan.” Donna pinched his cheek. She had missed his lively enthusiasm almost as much as Harvey’s cocky smugness.

“Do you miss me?” She had to ask.

Mike was bright enough to understand that she was actually talking about their boss. “Of course I do. But he misses you more.”

Donna had never smiled brighter this week. “What do your boys miss about me?”

“Other than your ability to control the universe and make all our problems go away? Oh, I don’t know…”

Donna pinched Mike’s other cheek. He was saying all the right things today. “How’s the case going? I hear it’s a tricky one.”

“Yeah, the opposing counsel is a smart dickhead so Harvey’s nerves have been on edge. But Lex and Seth have been quite helpful and I think we’ll manage to win.”

“But I bet Harvey doesn’t want to win. He wants to _crush_ them.”

“Yeah, he’s been a little scary since yesterday. He’s teased Lex about his love for Lana and he’s terrorized Seth to release some stress but I don’t think it’s working.”

“I thought you boys had other activities to take care of stress.” Donna gave him a knowing wink.

“Oh, that… Sadly, I’ve been too tired to do anything but drop dead on the bed when I get home. Moving is never easy and the workload’s been pretty heavy this week.” Mike couldn’t resist a yawn as he thought about the comfortable bed at Harvey’s place. How he wished he could sleep eight hours straight in that piece of heaven.

“Speaking of moving, how are things at home?”

“Uh, let’s just say that we’re getting used to each other’s constant presence.” Mike smiled awkwardly.

“Spit it out, Mike. I can make all of your problems go away. Don’t I always?”

“Well, Harvey seems to think that I make a mess everywhere I go. But you see, I’ve just been too busy since I moved in and… he’s too much of a neat freak.” Mike lowered his voice and looked around, hoping that his boyfriend wasn’t within earshot.

“Luckily for you, I think I’ll have exactly what you need when I get back to you two.” This time, Donna pinched the tip of his nose.

Mike rubbed his nose and nodded. “We can’t wait to have you back. Lana’s probably doing her best but I can tell that Harvey’s running out of patience.”

“Just try to keep him sane till Friday and whatever damage has been done, I’ll take care of it on Monday.”

“I love you.” Mike poured all his heart into the confession.

“I know.” Donna pinched his ear with a satisfied grin. “Now go back to your master before he makes grown men cry to find you. I’m the only one who knows where you are at all times.”

Mike’s hand automatically shot up to the back of his neck to check if there was a microchip planted in his body.

Donna laughed. “I bet Harvey’s thought about doing that, but I’m proud to see that he’s found a more humane way to deal with it.”

Mike pretended to be shocked. “Are you suggesting that he wanted me to move in with him only because he wanted to know where I was?” 

“I didn’t say that. I just think it’s a nice, little bonus for him.”

Making a mental note to include a collar in the toy box, Donna winked at Mike and returned to her desk.

 

“What took you so long? Every minute counts on a busy day like this, Mike.” Harvey put down the phone as Mike came back to his office.

“Sorry. I ran into Donna on my way back and time just flew! She misses you, by the way. Quite terribly.” Mike added for a dramatic effect.

“I see.” Harvey’s expression softened a little. He didn’t ask anything but Mike knew that he was dying to ask about his precious secretary.

“She looked all right but I think I saw new wrinkles around her eyes.”

Harvey snorted. “The privilege of working for Louis.”

Mike laughed before pointing at the certificate. “So where do you think we should put this? Hang it on the wall behind you?”

“Yeah. But you can leave it on my desk. I’ll deal with it before we head home.”

“Nah, I can handle it. I’d be honored to. What a proud achievement this is!” Mike grinned and picked up the hammer from Harvey’s desk.

“Mike, I think you’re just going to hurt yourself. Leave it and I’ll do it later.”

“But I got it! I used to hang pictures on my wall all the time. Don’t worry, Harvey. I can do this.” Mike felt the need to prove that he wasn’t just a messy guy so he started hammering the nail into the wall.

“Oww!” Mike dropped the hammer on the floor and Harvey rushed to his side.

“What did I tell you? I told you that I’d rather do it. Let me take a look.”

“It’s not that bad…” Mike said in a weak voice.

Harvey assessed the damage and put the injured thumb in his mouth.

“Harvey…!”

Mike’s eyes shot out of the office to where Lana was sitting. He knew that Harvey was just trying to disinfect the wound but it felt like they were doing something incredibly dirty. It wasn’t his fault that whatever involved Harvey’s sinful tongue reminded him of something dirty. Harvey knew how to move his tongue in the most wonderful way which often led him to make a different type of mess.

‘But doesn’t this work only when there’s a cut involved? Like a paper cut or something? And, wasn’t he the one who said that every minute counts on a busy day like this? Then why is he sucking on my thumb for this long? Oh gosh, this probably shouldn’t feel so good…’ Mike swallowed the moan that had almost left his throat. He needed to remind himself that they were in the office on a very busy workday.

_Knock-knock._

“Sorry. Are we interrupting?”

Lex’s amused voice made Mike snap back to reality. Seth was standing next to his boss, looking at him with his mouth open. His eyes were screaming envy and Mike realized that Harvey hadn’t answered yet because he was still working on his thumb.

“No! You are not interrupting. And, this is not what it looks like.” Mike answered quickly and tried to pull out his finger but Harvey kept a firm grip on his hand.

Lex looked at the hammer on the floor and then at Mike’s finger that had finally managed to escape. “It looks like you hurt yourself while using the hammer and Harvey’s taking care of the wound.”

“Oh… Then it’s exactly what it looks like.” Mike blushed at his dirty thoughts and caught the playful glance that the senior partners exchanged. What was that? Were they making fun of him? What happened to the award-winning teamwork of Team Specter?

“Psst, you have to teach me how to do that. I’ll even pay you. How much do you want?” Seth whispered as he sat next to Mike on the couch.

“Teach you what?” Mike let Harvey put ointment on his finger and wrap it with a band aid. He had to blush once more when Lex laughed at Harvey kissing the tip of his finger.

“That! How do you get a senior partner to suck and kiss you?” Seth whispered again.

Mike didn’t know how to answer the ridiculous question. He felt that the question was Seth Keller in a nutshell. Thankfully, he didn’t have to come up with an answer. Lex started talking about a new angle that they could work on and he soon found himself immersed in work.

 

When Harvey came home with his boyfriend that night, the first thing that caught his attention was the peaceful neatness of his condo. His housekeeper must have nicely cleaned up Mike’s mess.

“Oh, wow, it’s so tidy.” Mike noticed with a long yawn as he dropped his messenger bag next to the door.

“Yeah, Gloria has quite the magic touch.” Harvey grabbed Mike’s waist and kissed him on the cheek in order to stop himself from scolding his tired boyfriend.

“It looks like it. Aren’t we glad that we have all the right people around us?” Mike started to leave a trail of clothes as he headed towards the bedroom.

“You have no idea.” Harvey picked up Mike’s clothes with a sigh. He knew that Mike wasn’t going to change overnight and that he had to give him time to adjust to the new situation, but he had trouble standing Mike’s untidiness.

‘I don’t mind him making a mess in bed but I guess that’s different. Besides, his suit is almost always a mess so why am I surprised?’ Harvey thought about how often Mike got toothpaste, coffee, strawberry jam, and many other things on his clothes. If he hadn’t known any better, he would have thought that Mike was doing it on purpose.

‘I guess it’s only fair though. God gave him a useful brain but clumsy hands. Although I noticed that they’re not too clumsy in bed.’

Harvey came to the conclusion that sex was the one way that would allow him to deal with Mike’s less desirable qualities. He separated Mike’s clothes into two piles and put one pile in the laundry basket and took the other one into the walk-in closet. Then he walked into the bedroom and smiled when he heard the water running inside the bathroom. ‘He can make it up to me in any way he’d like. I’ll even let him choose.’

Stripping as fast as lightning, Harvey sneaked into the bathroom and joined his boyfriend in the shower. “Hey, hotshot.”

“Hey, hotshot’s boyfriend.” Mike grinned sleepily and handed him the body wash.

“Really? That’s the best you’ve got?” Harvey pressed his lips against Mike’s and squeezed the orange liquid onto his palm. Unfortunately, Mike looked too tired to do anything fun with him.

“Well, do you want me to call you sweetheart or something?”

Harvey stopped washing his own arms and looked at Mike to see if he was serious. It was difficult to tell when Mike’s eyes were only half open.

“Do _you_ want to call me sweetheart or something?” He asked cautiously.

“I think I asked you first, Harvey.” Another long yawn left Mike’s lips.

Harvey could think of many interesting things to do with those pretty lips but he would have to take a rain check.

“I think I wouldn’t mind whatever you call me as long as it doesn’t leave the house.” He answered, not sure if Mike would even remember this conversation in the morning.

Mike’s eyes flew wide open. “Really? So I can call you sweetheart? What about darling or honey? Or baby? How do you feel about my dear pumpkin pie?”

“Really? My dear pumpkin pie? I hope you’ll come up with something better once you’ve got a good night’s sleep.” Harvey proceeded to wash Mike’s hair and kissed his forehead when he closed his eyes.

“Got it. So you’re okay with sweetheart, darling, and honey. But baby makes you slightly uncomfortable and you have very negative feelings about pumpkin pies.” Mike mumbled to himself.

“I see that you have more brain cells left than I thought.” Harvey rinsed Mike’s hair and enjoyed the feeling of being so close to his puppy. Everyone in the office knew about their relationship but it wasn’t like he could touch his associate whenever he wanted to.

“This is nice, honey. We should do this more often.” Mike wrapped his arms around Harvey’s waist in case he had tried out the term of endearment too early.

Harvey could only laugh. It felt strange. Some of his past dates had called him like that but they had been so insignificant that he hadn’t even given it a second’s thought.

“Was that a good laugh or a bad laugh?” Mike opened his eyes to study Harvey’s face.

“It was a surprised laugh.” Harvey answered honestly and pulled Mike into a kiss. He didn’t want his boyfriend to worry about something that he would eventually get used to.

“Why don’t you get into a towel and start drying your hair, puppy? I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Harvey kissed him one last time before tapping his ass for encouragement.

“Okay. I love you, Harvey.” Mike smiled and stepped out of the shower. He would normally wait for Harvey to finish up but tonight, he couldn’t wait to fall asleep.

“I love you too.”

Harvey had to laugh again at the watery mess that Mike was making on his way out. Shaking his wet hair carelessly, his boyfriend looked exactly like an undomesticated puppy.

 


	25. Smoothing out the creases

  
_Previously on ‘The Marvey Chronicles’…_

_Louis misread the sign of the charity box on Donna’s desk and donated a huge amount of money to impress her. Later, he realized what the money was for and tried to get it back but Donna pointed at the bottom of the box that read: Non refundable. Meanwhile, Harvey and Donna missed each other and Mike told Donna that Harvey (the neat freak) seemed to think that he (the undomesticated puppy) made a mess everywhere he went. Harvey decided to give Mike some time to adjust to the new situation but it wasn’t easy._

 

The next morning, the first piece of business that Norma had to take care of was to give the managing partner a weekly report on the Marvey front.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much good news this week, Miss Pearson.” She started with a small sigh.

Jessica hated to hear bad news first thing in the morning. It just messed up the whole day. “You know how I like to see positive results when I invest in a project, Norma.”

“Of course I do! It’s just that without Donna’s eyes and ears, it’s been a very challenging week. Miss Lana Lang seems to have no interest in eavesdropping through the intercom and I’ve heard that she didn’t even glance when they were kissing rather… intimately.” Norma kept it short. It didn’t feel right to say ‘Harvey’s stare was milliseconds away from burning off Mike’s clothes’ or ‘Deb claims that she heard Mike moan even from her desk’ in front of her boss. The members of her club died for vivid descriptions but as far as she knew, Jessica preferred solid evidence such as pictures.

“What do you mean she has no interest? She still hasn’t signed up for the club? It’s been three days already.”

“I know. I don’t understand it either. She looks so normal.” Norma let out another sigh. “Our recon agents have reported that Harvey and Mike have been showing less chemistry this week, so maybe it has something to do with that.”

Jessica’s eyebrow shot up in annoyance. Bad news always came in a bundle. “And, why is that?”

Norma swallowed hard. If there was one person who could make her nervous, it was Jessica Pearson. “From what I’ve heard, Harvey seems to be on edge without Donna around. You know, he’s been totally Donnesticated. And, one of our agents overheard him scolding Mike about how he left his jacket so carelessly and how he didn’t arrange the files on his desk.”

Jessica tapped her chin with her fingers and Norma found the huge black ring on her middle finger very intimidating.

“And, what is the club doing to prevent the escalation of the situation?”

“We have raised quite a decent amount of money to support them through the difficult times. We are planning to give them a comprehensive toy box which should be ready by tomorrow afternoon. Our procurement agents will use their spare time to put the finishing touches so it shouldn’t affect their work.”

“Very well.” Jessica couldn’t help but laugh a little as she figured out what kind of a toy box Norma was talking about. “I think Harvey will be extremely pleased with the gift.”

“Oh, we certainly hope so. We’re lucky that we have so many toy experts in the club. They’re highly experienced.” Norma stated proudly.

Jessica burst into laughter at the unexpected piece of information. “I’m glad to hear that you have such able members on board. Don’t forget what our original agreement was, Norma. This should help me deal with Harvey more easily and he should be earning me even more money with his ridiculously happy face.”

“Yes, Miss Pearson.” Norma nodded and moved on to the next matter. “I would also like to report about the study group we have inside the club, you know, the one that Lex and some of the other lawyers get together and study Harvey’s courtroom victories.”

“Oh, yes. Right. You told me last week. What about it?”

“Well, it’s been going pretty well but they want to bring in a guest to help them with some of the cases. Someone who actually witnessed how the cases were won.”

“You mean Mike Ross.”

“Yes. Donna’s supposed to ask him this morning so we should have an answer soon. As you know, he’s on a busy case with Harvey and Lex’s team, but Lex said that he should have more time by next Tuesday.”

Jessica gave her a nod of approval. It was good to see the club doing something productive that was work-related. “Anything else?”

“Yes, it seems like my boss, Mr. Litt, has been trying to convince Mike that getting married to Harvey or even in general is a bad idea.”

The managing partner closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against her temple. “I’ve had enough of his antics these days. Other employees gave me positive feedback on the team-bonding activities but he couldn’t stop nagging me about it. Can you do me a favor and take care of it for me?”

“Sure, Miss Pearson. Consider it done.”

“Anything else?”

“No. That’s all I have for this week.” Norma got up from the couch and headed to the door. She felt bad for Jessica as she knew how irritating it could be to deal with Louis on a regular basis.

‘I would have to get some scandalous Marvey pictures to cheer her up. I wonder which toy is her personal favorite, hmm… I’m sure that Harvey has an office sex kink so we just have to get a micro camera in his office somehow.’ She reminded herself to talk to the toy experts after lunch. They would surely know which type of toy to put a recommending gold star on before including it in the box.

 

Harvey was heading back to his office with a fresh cup of coffee when he heard the unmistakable sound of familiar high heels clicking gracefully on the other end of the hallway. ‘Donna?’

He turned around just in time to see her stop and look his way. He automatically gave her a small but warm smile and got a matching smile in return. As he had expected, she was wearing those violet heels that he had gotten her last year for her birthday.

Harvey raised his cup of coffee and Donna laughed before shaking her head. ‘So Louis couldn’t get her the right coffee all week, huh?’

There was no doubt in his mind that she would come back to him once the secretary swap week was over, but it was still comforting to know that her current boss was incapable of keeping her satisfied.

‘I can’t wait to see his face when she packs her stuff and walks out of his miserable life.’ He chuckled as he pictured the rat lookalike hold on to the end of Donna’s skirt and beg her to stay for a few more days.

Donna caught Harvey’s attention by making a gesture to mess up her hair. ‘Ah, Mike. Yes, he’s doing fine.’ Harvey smiled and gave her a nod.

Then he saw her point at her watch. Harvey nodded again. She was right. He didn’t have time to waste in the hallway on a busy day like this. Harvey wondered what would be the best way to say goodbye to her. They never waved at each other and Donna deserved better than a small nod. He didn’t feel like giving her a salute either. He didn’t have to ponder for much longer though. The secretary gave him a playful wink as if she could read his mind before turning around and returning to her spot.

‘What a waste of valuable resource.’ Harvey thought bitterly but he had felt the need to send Donna away to rekindle their relationship. They had been so close to each other for such a long time and Harvey believed that it was in both of their interests to spend some time apart. What he hadn’t expected though was how difficult it would be to not have her sitting outside his office for a week.

‘It’s just five days. Only one and a half more day to go.’ He told himself as he walked into his office. If he was a poet, he would have composed hundreds of beautiful poems and recite them in her ears, but he was not. So the best he could do was to give her the proper welcome she deserved when she came back into his life.

Harvey vowed to himself that he would never let her go again unless she wanted otherwise. Lana did all right like most of the other secretaries in the office but he had never known how to appreciate something that was only ‘all right’. His mood was getting worse with every new hour and he had come dangerously close to snapping at Mike for scattering the files everywhere this morning. The last thing he wanted to do was to put a strain on their relationship when Christmas was only three days away.

“Harvey? Is everything okay?” Mike asked with a worried look from his desk.

“Yeah. It’s just that my coffee doesn’t taste great.” Harvey wasn’t exactly lying. It was true that his coffee had tasted weird all week.

“Do you want me to go out and get something from Dustin’s stand?”

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s snowing anyway.”

“Then do you want me to add a little kiss to your coffee?” Mike gave his boyfriend a suggestive smile.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m sure it’s just one of those days when nothing tastes right.”

Mike nodded, a little thrown off. Harvey had never rejected him before but he supposed that there was a first time for everything. He was hoping that he could lift Harvey’s spirits with a short make out session but it looked like he had to work another angle.

“Oh, hey, guess who invited me as a guest speaker next week? I said yes, by the way.” Mike hadn’t had a chance to bring it up. Lex and Seth had only left their office ten minutes ago.

“Let me guess. Your grandmother’s nursing home.” Harvey settled down at his desk, thinking that the answer was painfully obvious.

“No! Our beloved fan club! They have a study group that works on your past cases and they want me to tell them how awesome you were in court.”

Harvey’s snort sounded smug in Mike’s ears. His tactics were working. “I heard they’re even trying to make it into a song. With five verses! Don’t you think that’s too much? Even for you?”

“Well, what can I do about it? I already agreed to endure all their activities in exchange for getting a chance to teach them a lesson.”

“Ah, that’s too bad. It must be so painful to watch them praise you like a god.”

“You have no idea. The pressure is unreal. But if they live for such joy, who am I to stop them?”

Mike had to laugh. He had to admit that smugness worked for Harvey. He looked even more attractive with that amused grin hanging around his lips. “Hey, do you think you could endure the pain of letting me kiss you? Because I really need to kiss you right now.”

“Ah, it looks like someone can’t take no for an answer.” Harvey joked as he drank his coffee.

“Well, if you can’t give me what I need, I’ll have no chance but to go look for it outside. I’m pretty sure Gregory wouldn’t mind helping me out.”

“Who’s Gregory?” Harvey had never heard of that name before.

“Oh, not again.” Mike shook his head in disbelief. “Harvey, I know that associates are like meaningless bugs to you but some of them are my close coworkers! I’m even having lunch with them tomorrow! It surely wouldn’t kill you to remember a few names.”

“I don’t know, Mike. I think it might actually kill me. Without an eidetic memory like yours, there’s only so much space in my memory room.” Harvey took another sip of his coffee and frowned. “So where’s that kiss you’ve been talking about?”

Mike chuckled and headed over to the senior partner’s desk. He glanced outside to see what Lana was doing and wondered if it would be all right to sit on his boyfriend’s lap. “Don’t worry. She’s not going to look. That’s like the one good quality she has.”

Mike wanted to argue that the woman actually had many other good qualities but he was being kissed and there was only so much he could do with one mouth.

 

‘Perhaps I should’ve made my case properly yesterday.’ Mike lived to regret it twenty-four hours later as he watched his boss tear into the secretary for making a mistake.

Apparently, she had been busy and forgot to confirm the restaurant reservation for the client dinner. Mike thought that Harvey probably wouldn’t be so harsh on her if it wasn’t Christmas time. It was virtually impossible to get a table in a decent restaurant this time around so he understood Harvey’s frustration.

‘Oh no, she’s going to start crying any moment now.’ Mike stood up and headed to the door, hoping to play the role of a mediator. He was almost out of the office when he noticed that Lex was watching the scene from the hallway. The expression on the senior partner’s face made his heart sink. He had to help Lana.

“Uh, Harvey? Don’t you know the chef at ‘La Perle’? Perhaps he could help you get a table.”

“I shouldn’t need to call in favors for such a small matter.” Harvey snapped. “How long does it take to confirm a reservation? Only a minute.”

“I know. But what are we going to do about it? She made an honest mistake and it’s no use crying over spilt milk.”

“This is nothing like spilt milk, Mike. The client has specifically asked for this restaurant and that was pretty much the only thing that he has asked for. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants another lawyer to represent his firm now. We couldn’t even get him a table so why would he trust us to get him a deal?” Harvey rubbed his chin in a way that screamed annoyance and disappointment. “This would’ve never happened with Donna. Never.”

And, with that final nail on the coffin, Lana burst into tears and left her area, running towards the ladies’ room. Mike saw out of the corner of his eyes that Lex was running after her. At least, she wouldn’t have to sob alone.

Mike wasn’t happy with the way his boss had handled the situation. Harvey was fair and tough as he had once said himself but this week, he had to squint his eyes to spot his fair side. “Harvey, I know it’s not my place to say anything but was that really necessary? I’m sure she felt truly sorry the minute she realized her mistake. Plus, it’s her last day today. It’s not like she’d get another chance to screw things up.”

“Unless you’re going to fix the problem, Mike, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. Or even better, I suggest you arrange those damn files that are _still_ all over my office. Nobody’s ever taught you how to be neat like a grown man? To put things back at their places after using them?”

Mike knew that Harvey wasn’t blaming the one who had raised him but he still felt like his grandmother was getting insulted. “You don’t have to be so mean, Harvey. I’m trying to be neater but it takes a little time. I’m sorry that you can’t appreciate my progress.”

Harvey opened his mouth to say something along the lines of ‘What progress? Where? I must’ve missed it!’ but he had already yelled enough for one day. So he just fixed his associate with a hard stare and went back inside his office. He had a favor to call in.

 

“Um, is everything okay?” Harold asked as he witnessed yet another shrimp getting tortured under Mike’s fork.

“Yeah. Why do you ask?” Mike put the shrimp in his mouth and chewed. This was supposed to be a pleasant lunch with coworkers but all he could think about was how mean Harvey had been. His grandmother had taught him well, thank you very much.

“Well, you have very dark clouds over your head.” Harold answered and nudged Gregory who nudged the paralegal.

“What’s wrong? Had a fight with Harvey?” Rachel shook her head at the wusses and stepped up to the plate.

“You can say that.” Mike pondered for a moment if he was allowed to tell them what had happened. ‘Oh, what the heck. He’s probably telling Jessica right now anyway.’

After briefly wondering what the managing partner and her favorite senior partner would be having for lunch, he started to tell them all about the ‘Lana incident’ with as much details as possible.

“Oh, he’s so charismatic like that. I love him so much.” Harold wiped some drool off his chin with a napkin.

“Hey, why don’t you get a Harvey bib? Why use a normal napkin that has no cleaning power?” Gregory teased his colleague.

“That’s an excellent idea! But I don’t know if anyone else would want to buy it. Otherwise, I would have to buy ten bibs on my own. But what am I going to do with ten bibs? It’s not like I have any nephews.” Harold knew that the rules stated that the club only made merchandises that had received over ten requests.

“Can we please talk about something other than a bib? We’re having a meal here.” Rachel frowned. She had wanted to have lunch with Mike alone but Mike had asked with his puppy eyes if she could be generous and let the two associates join them.

“Sorry. What do you want to talk about then? The Harvey wig that Mike’s going to wear for us next week?” Everyone except Mike laughed at Harold’s words.

“Excuse me? Who’s wearing what?” Mike realized that a part of him missed working in the associates’ area. There were always crazy rumors going around at full speed.

“Haven’t you heard? Donna’s getting you a wig that looks exactly like Harvey’s hairdo. You’re going to wear it for our study group.” Gregory kindly informed him.

“Ahaha, really? And, where does Donna get such a valuable object?”

“Oh, who knows… I heard the other day that she even has a safe house somewhere. Benjamin kept insisting that there was a safe house under her name that was totally _not_ safe.” Harold lowered his voice as if he was revealing one of the greatest conspiracies of all times.

“Why would she have a safe house?” Even though he had asked, Mike didn’t find it too hard to believe that the woman had a sanctuary. He could imagine her having many enemies that were jealous of her unprecedented awesomeness.

“Perhaps she got it when she worked under Harvey at the D.A’s office.” Rachel offered. “There must’ve been insane clients with a grudge. She must’ve gotten a safe place just in case.”

“She’s a goddess for a reason!” This time Harold managed not to drool and Rachel could keep her appetite. It was a close call though.

“So what are your Christmas plans with Harvey? Throw a bone for us singles.” Rachel asked the question that the whole fan club was dying to know the answer to. According to Donna, Harvey hadn’t asked her help with anything and it worried her that he might not have anything planned.

“I don’t know.” Mike shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve been so busy that we didn’t really have time to talk about it. I don’t even know if he celebrates Christmas. And, now that we’ve had a fight, I don’t know if he wants to celebrate it with me.”

“He didn’t mention going to see his family?” Gregory was glad that he was tight with his family. He wouldn’t want to spend the holidays alone.

“No. He told me that his folks lived in the North but as far as I know, he only talks to them on their birthdays.”

“Aww, I’m sure he’d love to spend Christmas with you, Mike. If he’s not going home, why don’t you go visit your grandmother with him? She hasn’t met him yet, has she?” Rachel couldn’t wait to hear what Mike’s grandmother thought about Harvey.

“Oh, that’s a fantastic idea. I’ve been meaning to introduce Harvey to Grammy anyway.” Mike smiled. If Harvey met the woman who had raised him single-handedly, he would think twice before starting a sentence with ‘Nobody’s ever taught you…’

 

Louis was busy polishing the small bronze statue of himself when Norma and Donna marched into his office.

“What do you want?!” He shrieked at the presence of the two women who usually made him feel like a little boy.

“Gosh, I know it’s winter, Louis, but you really need to open those windows and let some fresh air in every once in a while.” Donna pinched the tip of her nose. The office smelled like sausages, envy, and desperation.

“If you don’t like my office, you can always turn around and leave, Donna. I’m sure you know where the door is since you’ve just walked through it.” Louis sniggered. He loved his sense of humor. He believed that it was one of the many reasons why clients warmed up to him. It was also one thing that Harvey didn’t seem to have; his endless jokes about his non-existent wife were lame at best.

“I’ll leave when Norma and I are done with the intervention.” Donna made her intentions clear.

“An intervention? Why on Mother Mary’s earth would I need an intervention?” Louis wiggled his unpleasant eyebrows.

“Well, we’ve been told that there have been some suspicious activities concerning you and Mike.” Norma paused to let the information sink in. “Is it true that you sent him certain reading materials through his e-mail when Harvey threw away the book you had subtly left on his desk?”

“How do you know that?” Louis was smart enough to know that it was no use denying it. “I must tell you that hacking another person’s system is against the law though. Really, ladies, having worked for lawyers for so long, you should’ve learned a few things about law.”

“We didn’t hack his system, Louis. Mike told us.” Donna had gotten Gregory’s report on the lunch as soon as he had returned to the office.

“Oh, that little tattletale, running to his mommy like that.” Louis clicked his tongue in disgust.

“I’m sorry, am I _mommy_ in this scenario?” Donna’s tone reminded Louis and Norma of Harvey, and Louis made a helpless sound before pulling out an antique dagger from the lowest drawer.

“You keep a dagger in your office? What for? You think one of your clients will see you for who you really are and decide to make the world a better place?” Donna snorted, still displeased that she could be someone’s ‘mommy’. She would have normally brushed off the comment but a few wrinkles had been added to her face since she had tried to get her boss to make a move on his associate.

‘I’ll make Harvey pay for my facelift. There has been tremendous development in that field and I understand that we don’t need surgeries for a good lift anymore. How wonderful. I should start looking up the best clinics. Hmm, I wonder if my Christmas bonus will cover it.’ Donna hoped that Harvey had forgiven her for going behind his back and that her actions hadn’t affected the usually generous bonus.

When she had stopped musing about the bonus, she noticed that Norma was doing a fine job, putting her boss back in his place. ‘Wow, she’s very dedicated to her matchmaking affairs. I hope she won’t try to be the wedding planner though. There’s no way I’m not doing it.’

Feeling the urge to get out of the smelly office as soon as possible, she tapped Norma’s shoulder and left her to finish the job. She would have to talk to Marvey on Monday and secure her wedding planning privileges in case Louis’ secretary tried something funny.

‘Let’s go check if the toy box is ready. We should have it delivered in a couple of hours.’ She checked the time on her wristwatch and quickened her steps. She wanted her boys to take it home with them and spend the naughtiest Christmas ever.

 

Mike was grateful that the client dinner had gone much better than he had expected. Harvey had managed to get a table at another upscale restaurant that suited the client’s taste and had used his silver tongue to keep him content. Mike had remained silent for the most of the evening, listening to the conversation and learning a few tricks. No matter how many times he got to observe Harvey handle the clients, he was always impressed. Harvey put a lot of efforts into pleasing them and he did it with class.

“Let’s go home.” Harvey offered after he saw the client out. Mike had stayed behind to double-check that they had got the client’s signature in all the right places.

“Can we stay a little longer? Get a couple of drinks maybe?” Mike looked up with a small smile. They hadn’t exactly made up and now that the client was gone, the tension was starting to come back.

“I’m tired, Mike. We have drinks at home too.” Harvey grabbed his jacket and stood up.

“I want you to meet my grandmother.” Mike blurted out. He had waited all afternoon and evening to ask. If he waited any longer, he was going to develop an anxiety issue.

Harvey sat back down. “When?”

“On Sunday…?” Mike’s tone was hesitant. Two days’ notice sounded too short for something of this magnitude.

“You mean on Christmas?” Harvey looked surprised.

“Yeah. I thought you weren’t going anywhere. But I know there’s not much time to think about it, so I’ll understand if you say no.” Mike really hoped that Harvey would say yes but he didn’t want to force the issue.

Harvey watched his boyfriend finish his glass of water in a hurry. He looked anxious as if he was expecting him to refuse. Harvey took a deep breath, trying not to get offended by the lack of faith that Mike was displaying towards him. They had gotten into a small argument like any other couple and Mike was acting like there was something wrong enough that he wouldn’t want to meet his family.

“I’d be delighted to meet her, puppy. I feel privileged that you asked.” Harvey gave him a warm smile and reached out to caress his cheek.

Mike couldn’t help the broad smile that covered his face. “I’m so thrilled that you’re willing to meet her! Grammy’s going to adore you to bits and pieces!”

Harvey laughed. “I just hope she doesn’t chop me into bits and pieces. How much have you told her about me?”

“Well, I talked to her whenever you were mean so maybe you should look out for your neck and limbs.” Mike loved how they were exchanging banters again.

“Well, if that’s the kind of fate that’s waiting for me, I should make great use of my time left. Don’t they say that make up sex is the best? I saw Ray loading a questionable box in the car earlier.”

“Ahaha, yeah, it looks like Santa came early to give us some special toys.” Mike couldn’t wait to go home and examine the contents of the box.

“Ah, if that poor, old fellow came all the way down here, we should do those toys justice.” Harvey’s imagination was starting to come up with some very exciting ideas regarding Mike and toys.

“Then what are we waiting for? Ray should be allowed to go home a little earlier today, don’t you think?”

“You’re right. Let’s go, sweetheart.” Harvey leaned in for a quick kiss and got up.

“What did you just say?”

“I said let’s go. Come on, puppy.” Harvey didn’t wait for Mike and pulled out his phone to check if Ray had come to pick them up.

‘Wow, this must be a Christmas miracle.’ Mike blinked his eyes, savoring the moment. He didn’t have to hear anything special from Harvey to know that he loved him, but to think that he was the one person who could make him use a term of endearment filled his heart with joy.

‘Perhaps I should call Grammy and let her know that Harvey has a romantic side too. We don’t want him to get chopped into pieces after all, do we?’ Mike chuckled as he rushed out of the restaurant. As soon as they got home, he would have to show Harvey just how much he meant to him.

 


	26. Flowers, smiles, and kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should probably be rated M for the first scene which mentions toys.

  
_Previously in ‘The Marvey Chronicles’…_

_Mike had been invited to speak as a guest lecturer in the study group and had received a toy box to use with Harvey. Harvey had torn into Lana for making a mistake and had realized that he missed Donna much more than he had expected. Donna had participated in an intervention in Louis’ office so that the junior partner would stop trying to talk Mike out of the marriage and had decided to talk to Marvey about who got to be their wedding planner. Rachel had suggested that Mike should go visit his grandmother with Harvey on Christmas and the senior partner had gladly accepted the offer._

 

The blessed people in New York City were enjoying a snowy Christmas Eve. While other people were singing carols and kissing their loved ones under the mistletoes, Mike was singing the name of his own savior and kissing that savior right under him.

“Jesus, Harvey… You really make me wonder why you became a lawyer…” Mike panted as Harvey pressed his lips against his sweaty forehead and rolled off him.

“First, I don’t want to hear the name of the birthday boy in front of mine. I don’t like to share the glory. Second, I’m too classy to work as a porn star. I see your point though. I’m too good.” Harvey grabbed the white towel from the nightstand, found a corner that was still clean, and started to take care of his puppy’s mess.

“And, you’re too arrogant but I’ll let it slide since you’re cleaning me up.” Mike let out a satisfied moan and closed his eyes. He was so lucky to have a partner who was passionate during the lovemaking and sweet during the aftercare.

Despite their fervent effort during the past twenty-four hours, they had only been able to go through nine percent of the toys. Harvey had thoroughly enjoyed drawing as much response as possible from the pliant body under him and Mike hadn’t had the heart or the mind to tell him to move on to the next toy.

Initially, Harvey had ordered his associate to divide the toys into three categories; a) toys that Mike was dying to try, b) toys that Mike wasn’t too sure about but was willing to try under Harvey’s guidance, c) toys that Mike wanted nothing to do with. Harvey had put the first box on the nightstand and had been working through it diligently, had put the second box under the bed for future adventures, and had put the third box in Ray’s hands so that it could be promptly delivered to Louis. It was the season to give back, and a cute yet naughty puppy had informed him that his inferior colleague had heavily contributed to their box of fun. Besides, Harvey felt that it was only fair for the eternally single guy to sample some of the goods.

“Mike, what do you think we should try next? I vote for this edible underwear. You always get hungry by this time of the night.” Harvey looked inside the box with the same expression that he used while reading a legal document. Both were equally important businesses.

“Oh, no, Harvey. We’re not trying anything next. My lips and ass are both too sore from all the lewd things we’ve done all day.” Mike hooked his arms around Harvey’s waist and tried to pull him away from the box.

Harvey smirked at how hoarse Mike’s voice had become; he felt accomplished. “But the night is young, stud. And, that’s what you told me two toys ago. Plus, you know what it says on the tin? ‘The more you lick, the better they taste, so lick well before eating. The totally edible underwear becomes more pliable with body heat and moisture. Lick and nibble your way to ecstasy. Who will enjoy it more?’”

“Bwahaha, that sounds promising but let’s try that tomorrow. Besides, it’s my turn to torture tomorrow and that underwear sounds like the perfect place to start.”

“Fine. I should probably let you know that there’s a gummy thong too. I wonder how much Jessica knows about the naughtiness of her employees.” Harvey got up from the bed and headed over to the drawer. He pulled out a fresh shirt and a comfortable pair of pants and got dressed.

“Gosh, I’m glad we’re done for the night, Harvey. We need another rule: nobody mentions Jessica’s name in the bedroom or any other name for that matter. It kills the mood.”

“Fine, you sensitive soul. Now let’s get you to finish those cookies before you pass out from hunger.” Harvey knew how much Mike liked to wear his shirt to cope with the emptiness he felt after Harvey had left his body, so he picked up his T-shirt and walked over to the bed. “Hands in the air.”

“Ooh, that calls for a cop/criminal role-play. Perhaps we could try that tomorrow too. I put all the cuffs and nightsticks in the first box.” Mike let Harvey push the T-shirt over his head. “I’ll play the brilliant, young sergeant who’s very thorough with his search and you’ll play the bad boy who gets arrested for possession of drugs.”

Harvey snorted as he handed the sergeant a pair of clean boxers. “That sounds like uncreative porn but I’m sure we can fix the plot along the way.”

Mike laughed and walked out of the bedroom before settling down on the couch. Some of the club members had baked them Christmas cookies and they were absolutely delicious.

“You want one?” He asked, assuming that Harvey would be as exhausted as, if not more than, him.

“Sure.” Harvey opened his mouth as he sank into the couch.

Mike fed him a chocolate cookie with a smile. He must be too tired to even lift a finger.

“So do you think we should send them a thank you card?” Harvey threw his arm around Mike’s shoulder as he appreciated the taste of decent chocolate.

“What? No! I thought you said you were too classy!” Mike blushed as he thought about phrases such as ‘Thank you for the special gift. Please extend our deepest gratitude especially to the one who got us the blue plug.’ or ‘We’ve had the wildest adventures with the beads. Thank you for being so considerate’.

Harvey raised his eyebrow before laughing outright. “Oh, you naughty, naughty boy. I was talking about the cookies.”

“Oh…!! Then of course, why not? Rachel told me they have a new Facebook page so perhaps we can surprise them there. They’re going to love it!” Mike beamed and reached for the eggnog.

“I trust you to take care of it then.”

“But they’d love to hear from you too.”

“I already do enough things in the office, Mike. The other day, a woman wanted me to sign her cleavage.”

“Oh my god, don’t tell me you did it!” Mike wasn’t sure if he should burst into laughter or get jealous.

“What else was I supposed to do? When I refused, her eyes immediately filled up with tears. I can’t deal with a crying woman, or a man for that matter.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe she was faking it? I’ve heard that Donna’s taught other secretaries how to read lips. Given her passion for acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ran an acting class in the basement.”

Harvey took a moment to think if those could have been crocodile tears. He usually read people with ease but he did have a history of falling victim to Donna’s acting before. If he had run into her best student, it was possible that he could have been played. “You may have a point, puppy. I won’t sign any more cleavages then.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Oh, and speaking of acting, Donna’s going to teach me how to play, I’m sorry, _embody_ you for the study group. I’m supposed to play multiple roles; you, the opposing counsel, the judge…”

Harvey laughed. “That sounds rather ridiculous.” He couldn’t stop laughing. He loved Mike but the boy was one of the most horrible actors that he had ever seen. That was why he would have to teach him closely for the rest of his career. 

“You know, they told me you could always come over and spectate. With Donna’s mentoring, I might actually blow your mind.” Mike didn’t like how Harvey was laughing at him.

“No thanks.” Harvey kissed Mike’s temple in case he got upset. “But I’ll be sure to check the reviews so give it your best shot and do me justice.”

Harvey kissed Mike’s ear this time since he had to give the swollen lips some rest. He could always order Donna to film the session and watch it in the safety of his condo. Now that he had a solid fan base, he had even more reasons to maintain his flawless reputation. He couldn’t burst into laughter every five seconds at his boyfriend’s performance. What would his adoring fans think of him?

“Fine. Just try not to cry when you realize that you’ve missed a brilliant performance. There won’t be a private encore unless you behave tomorrow. Are you nervous about meeting Grammy?”

“Nah, who doesn’t like me? I’m sure I’ll get her to like me.”

Mike chuckled as he nodded his agreement. He couldn’t wait to show his grandmother how amazing his boyfriend was.

 

“Grammy, we’re here!” Mike cheerfully walked into his grandmother’s room, holding Harvey’s hand.

“Hello, Michael. And, this must be Mr. Specter.”

“Please call me Harvey, ma’am.” Harvey offered her white roses with his most charming smile.

“Oh, these are wonderful. Thank you. And, only if you call me Edith.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Edith.” Harvey took the seat in front of her and let Mike take the one right next to hers.

“Likewise. So you’re the one my Michael constantly gushes about.” The grandmother took a good look at the fine young man as her grandson gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Well, I’ve been told that he has been focusing on my negative qualities.” Harvey laughed and glanced at Mike.

“Oh, he might’ve started with negative qualities but he has always ended with a gigantic amount of compliments.” Edith gave Harvey a warm smile.

“I think the word ‘gigantic’ is too strong, Grammy. And, who do I have to send flowers to? The elves or the angels?” Mike asked as he noticed how the room was nicely decorated with Christmas ornaments.

“You can thank The Marveyed for that. Didn’t they do a lovely job?” Edith smiled in satisfaction.

Mike and Harvey instantly looked at each other and Mike did his best not to scream in horror. “How do you know that name?! The club was here?”

“Yes, just yesterday morning. What were their names? Let me think. The one with fiery red hair was Donna, the one who brought me sushi was Rachel, and the one that smelled like paper was Gregory. I can remember that last one easily because he had the same name as the man I once went out with.”

“Too much information, Grammy!” Mike whispered near her face.

“I think _you’re_ the one who’s giving me too much information, Michael. What’s with the hoarse voice today?”

“Oh, it’s the weather. But there’s nothing to worry about. I already took some pills.” Mike couldn’t tell his grandmother that he was hoarse from screaming his lungs out under his boyfriend for hours.

“Is that so?” Edith gave him a knowing smile but didn’t press the blushing boy. She was a lady after all.

“If I may ask, did they do anything questionable that Mike and I should know about?” Harvey hoped that Donna didn’t go as far as showing Mike’s grandmother silly pictures of him.

“Now that you mention it, I remember I wanted to show you two things.” She got up from her armchair with Mike’s help and pulled out a small card and a photo album from the bookshelf.

“This is what they’ve got me.” She showed off the card with a proud yet malicious grin on her face.

“Is that a membership card?” Harvey asked in surprise.

“For The Marveyed? Oh god…” Mike noticed that there was even an ID number on the card. “You’re a real member? Not an honorary member or something?”

“Of course I’m a real member, Michael. I’m your biggest fan. It’s only natural for me to join your fan club.”

“Grammy…” Warmth spread in Mike’s mind and he gave his grandmother’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry I don’t get to see you more often. I can’t believe I’m neglecting my favorite fan.”

“Nonsense. You’re not neglecting me. Not even close. And, fans like to see you make a difference out there. You’re helping people just like your parents wanted you to and you’re living up to your potential just like _I_ wanted you to.”

“But I could’ve visited you every weekend. Or at least every two weeks. I rarely work on weekends these days…” Mike’s voice trailed off with guilt.

“Listen to me. Every three, four weeks is more than I can hope for. You think other grandsons come visit their grandmas more often than you? Besides, we talk on the phone. Harvey, help me out here.”

“Mike, I’m sure she knows how much you care about her. And, she also understands that you need to rest during the weekend.” Harvey reached out for Mike’s hand.

Mike looked at the two people he loved the most in the world, the two that he loved more than himself, and thanked God for making him such a happy person.

“I love you so much, Grammy. Merry Christmas.” He threw his arms around her and kissed her cheek again.

“Aww, merry Christmas to you too. And, let me show you something that would put your mind at ease. There’s another way for me to see your face.” She patted her grandson’s cheek before handing him the photo album.

Mike moved his chair next to his boyfriend and opened the album. It was filled with various moments of their life together at the office. They were laughing as they walked down the hallway, comparing notes in front of the elevator, and sharing a kiss inside Harvey’s office.

“Wow, they’ve actually followed up on their agreement.” He mumbled to himself as he turned page after page.

“My favorite is that one where you boys are laughing in front of the hot dog cart. One can never have enough good laughs these days.” Edith pointed at a particular picture.

“I think we should get a copy of this.” Harvey suggested as Mike smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Grammy, let me get us something to drink and see how much longer we have to wait for the big lunch.” He stood up and looked at Harvey to wish him good luck in case his grandmother wanted to have ‘the talk’ with him.

“You do that, Michael.”

The grandmother waited until her grandson left the room and focused her attention on Harvey. “You’ve already done so much for him so I only have one request. No more Trevors. That means no original Trevor at the wedding.”

And, just like that, Harvey had found the common denominator with the lady. “Understood. I’ll make sure he’s surrounded by the right people.”

“Thank you. That would mean a lot to my old self. You’re an angel to me and Mike. I hope you know that.” She reached out and patted him affectionately on the cheek. “So I understand that you want to propose to him properly.”

“Yes. Don’t tell him but I’m planning to do it on New Year’s Eve.”

“That’s wonderful.” Her smile couldn’t have been any brighter. “Please excuse him if he sheds gross tears all over you. He’s never learned how to cry prettily.”

When Mike poked his head into the room, Harvey and his grandmother were sharing a laugh. “What’s so funny? Lunch is ready. I hope you guys weren’t laughing at my expense.”

Harvey looked at Edith who gave him a small wink. He had a feeling that whatever they served at the nursing home would make a perfect meal. He had gotten Mike’s grandmother’s approval and very few things could make him feel this valuable.

 

On Monday morning, a woman with fiery red hair was walking down the hallway of Pearson-Hardman in her favorite pair of boots. Her pace got faster and faster as she was eager to check if Lana had treated her area well.

‘Oh my god, what are those?’ She hadn’t expected to see flowers waiting for her on the desk. ‘It’s about time I got a secret admirer! A girl needs to find a man before she gets more lines on her face.’

Donna quickly approached her area and threw her purse on one side of the desk. Her face immediately lit up at how the basket contained a wide variety of fresh flowers. Some of the flowers weren’t easy to find during the winter in the States and Donna couldn’t help but be impressed. ‘Whoever sent me this must know the best florist in the city.’

That was when her heart skipped a beat. Who would know the best florist in the city? Who was the one person apart from her who knew the best people in all the fields?

If her guess was right, it meant that she had no secret admirer, but Donna still hoped that she was right. She carefully took out the card nested between the violet and the Japanese iris and opened it: _Welcome back. Looking forward to meeting your eyes every day. –Yours, Harvey_

“Aww… Damn right, you’re mine, Harvey Specter. Some things will never change.” Donna beamed as she blessed her eyes with the beautiful gift. Yep, it did look like there were over two hundred flowers.

“What’s that silly grin on your face?” Norma approached her colleague with caution. Perhaps Donna had drunk too much eggnog during the weekend and was still out of it.

“Look, Norma! Harvey got me these! Can you believe how sweet he is? I adore flowers!”

“I can tell…” Norma had come to discuss some matters regarding the fan club but it didn’t look like a good time.

“How am I going to take this home? It’s too big and heavy. I’ll be forced to keep it on my desk! Really, Harvey should’ve known that I don’t like to show off my gifts.”

Norma wanted to point out that it looked exactly like she wanted to show off her gifts but she didn’t want to ruin someone’s happy moment. She would like to think that she was nothing like her boss even though they had worked closely for many years. She wasn’t going to stomp on other people’s happiness just because she was envious. “I think I’ll stop by again later. Enjoy your flowers.”

“Thanks! I definitely will!” Donna caressed the flowers as if they were her firstborns and Norma turned on her heel, wondering why _her_ boss would never do anything sweet like that.

Her mood only got worse when she walked past Lex’s office to get to her area. Apparently, Donna wasn’t the only one who had received flowers today. She frowned at how Lana’s face was about to break with joy at the sight of yellow tulips on her desk.

‘I like yellow tulips too. Frankly, who doesn’t?’ Norma pouted as she stomped past the disturbing scene.

‘Is it flowers’ day or what? It’s definitely not secretaries’ day since that’s the fourth Wednesday of April! And, I don’t know about Donna but I’m clearly more competent than Lana, so why am I not getting any flowers?’ Okay, maybe working so closely with Louis was starting to rub off on her.

Norma wasn’t the only one who had a problem with Lana getting flowers and being so happy about it. Lex was standing a few feet away from his office, gaping at the scene in front of him. Someone had sent flowers to his beloved secretary. If it weren’t for his good reflexes, he would have dropped his briefcase in shock.

‘But I thought we had finally made some progress last Friday.’ Lex thought about how he had offered her a shoulder to cry on in an empty conference room after Harvey had left her in tears. She had apologized profusely for making a mess on his suit but he had reassured her that there was nothing to worry about. Then he had proceeded to remind her how she had constantly saved him and his career over a cup of tea and some consoling biscuits.

Lex took a few steps and made his presence clear. It was creepy to keep watching her from the corner. “Good morning, Lana. If I may ask, who had the pleasure of sending flowers to such a beautiful lady?”

Lana smiled at the compliment. “These are from Mr. Specter.”

“Harvey gave you those?”

“Yes, he wanted to say thanks and sorry about last week.” She held up the card with a warm smile.

“Oh, that’s very nice of him.” Lex nodded, thinking that he should get her flowers too.

Lana bit back a smile at how relieved her boss looked. He could be cute like that. Then she thought about what Harvey had suggested in the card while Lex looked like he was trying to see through the card. “Lex, do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve?”

Lex looked at her with genuine surprise. He hoped that he had heard her right. “Not at all. I have plenty of time.”

Lana blushed a little before she decided to go through with it. Despite her concerns, Harvey had reassured her that she was good enough for him and that the ‘moping senior partner’ wouldn’t let her down. “Then would you mind taking me out to dinner that day?”

Lex’s briefcase finally hit the floor. “Would I _mind_? I would _love_ to take you out to dinner, Lana.”

Then he pulled out one of the tulips from the bouquet and kissed the petals before handing it over with his heart.

“You’re so romantic, Lex. I’m sure Seth will agree.” She giggled as she took the flower with a happy face.

“Oh, please don’t ruin the mood like that.” Lex almost pleaded which made his secretary laugh even louder.

Lex picked up his briefcase and let Lana get back to work. He couldn’t wait to walk the few steps to his office and come up with a plan for a great dinner date.

 

When Harvey had made it to the office after an early meeting with a particularly diligent client, the first thing he noticed was how Donna was back in his life.

“Hello, Donna. Long time no see.” He noted with pride that Donna had separated the flowers and had put them in vases all around her area.

“Hello, boss. Thank you for the flowers. They’re lovely.” Donna smiled and opened some files that needed Harvey’s signature.

“You’re welcome.” Harvey smiled back and pulled out his pen.

“In exchange, I’ve got something special for you.” She held out a business card which immediately left a frown on Harvey’s face.

“A couple counselor? Why would Mike and I need a counselor for?”

Donna confirmed that Mike was busy before leaning forward. “Because it’s always a good idea to make sure everything’s all right before proposing to your loved one.” She was doing this for another reason but Harvey didn’t have to know.

“How did you know I was… Never mind.” It looked like Mike’s grandmother was already a part of the information network.

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t know. I told him I set up an appointment because of your OCD.”

“But I don’t have OCD.”

“You can say that to your counselor. She’s one of the best in the field so use her wisely.”

Harvey let out a disapproving grunt but didn’t argue any further. He didn’t want to upset his secretary on the first day of her return.

“And, I wanted to ask you something. Mike already gave me his permission but I’d like to check with you too.”

Donna’s polite tone caught Harvey’s attention. “What is it?” He asked as he finished the last signature.

“Could I be your official wedding planner? I’ve already ordered all the magazines they have on gay marriage and who knows you two better than me?” Donna patiently waited for an answer with a twinkle in her eyes.

Harvey studied her face for a moment before he smirked. “You fear you might have competition. That’s why you’re asking for something that’s obviously yours.”

“I refuse to respond to that on the grounds that I don’t want to.”

Harvey made a face and Donna batted her eyelashes innocently. “What? I learned it from you!”

“Fine. You can be our wedding planner. Do you need it in writing? Louis and I already have enough problems. If you and Norma start pulling each other’s hair, Jessica might be tempted to get rid of all four of us.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Mike’s working on those papers as we speak. I knew you were going to say yes.” Donna got up from her seat and kissed her boss on the cheek. “I won’t take my duty lightly. You know that.”

“If our faces are going to be this close, I think I should explain myself to Mike.” Harvey joked and glanced inside the office.

Mike was sitting at his desk with a peaceful expression on his face as he carefully typed on his laptop while sipping at his tea. The white city behind him made him stand out and Harvey wished that he had an eidetic memory so he could remember this moment for a very long time.

_Click._

Harvey turned his face and saw that Donna was snapping pictures of his boyfriend.

“I’ll send them to your laptop right away. Don’t you worry.” Donna grinned and Harvey couldn’t help but return the kiss on her cheek. Now that she was back where she belonged, everything was all right in his world.

 


	27. Secretaries run the world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special guest character: Sue Sylvester (from 'Glee'). For those who don't know her, she's the coach of the high-school cheerleading team who often comes across as inappropriate and rude. Technically, she's future!Sue in here.

  
_Previously in ‘The Marvey Chronicles’…_

_Harvey and Mike had thoroughly enjoyed their toys and had visited Mike’s grandmother on Christmas who had become a member of The Marveyed. Harvey had told her that he was planning to propose to Mike properly on New Year’s Eve while Lex had got himself a dinner date with Lana on that same day. Donna and Lana had received flowers from Harvey which had made Norma blame her ungrateful boss even more. Donna had gotten in writing that she would be Marvey’s official wedding planner in case Norma wanted to steal her sacred duty._

 

On a bright Tuesday morning, Norma was heading towards Donna’s area with a piece of paper clutched in her hand.

“Woman, we need to talk.” She used the intimidating tone that she reserved for her lovely boss.

Donna could already tell what this was about. There was only one thing that could make her coworker so upset. “It was always going to be me, Norma. You know that.”

Norma snorted as loudly as she could. “Excuse me but who’s the matchmaking queen here? I don’t recall you helping out any potential couples before.”

“You can keep the title of the matchmaking queen, Norma. I just want to be the wedding planner, that’s all.”

“That’s all?” Norma raised her voice dramatically. “Do I need to remind you just how many relationships come to an end on the wedding day? The wedding is probably the most important part of the process!”

“Well, in that case, you can give the boys a pep talk before the wedding. I’m sure that’s far more important than deciding what kinds of flowers they need.” Donna took a sip of her coffee. It was a relief that she had got Mike to type up that document.

“Look, Donna. We don’t need to argue about this. I just want to be your co-planner, that’s all. I think it’s a fair demand, given all the couples I’ve got hitched in the past.”

“That’s all?” Now it was Donna’s turn to gasp. “If I make you co-planner, you’re just going to try to boss me around! Then we’re going to have the nastiest cat fight in the history of cat fights and our boys will end up with a really bad wedding.”

“Well, you’re not exactly the type to get bossed around, are you?” Norma went for a different tactic.

“That’s true but I’m not willing to take a chance. There’s always a first for everything.” Donna squeezed her take-out cup. This was definitely not a pleasant conversation.

“You know what. I’d like to talk this out with you but if this doesn’t get us anywhere, I’ll have to find a loophole in this document and squeeze myself into your spot.” Norma shook the paper in her hand.

Donna smiled as sweetly as she could. “Good luck with that. Mike may have drawn it up but I also checked it with _Harvey_.”

Norma flinched at her tone of victory but decided to stay strong. “We’ll see about that. Even sharks are known to leave survivors.”

“Harvey’s not just any shark, Norma. He’s the best one out there.” Pride was evident in Donna’s voice.

“I know he is. But perhaps he didn’t look too carefully into such a ridiculous document like this.”

“Do we have a problem, ladies?” Harvey appeared with a briefcase in hand and a worried Mike right behind him. They had come back from an early client meeting.

“Nothing we can’t handle ourselves.” Donna spoke for both of them. There was no need to drag the happy couple into this.

Norma took it as her cue to acknowledge Marvey’s presence and left to get some help. She wasn’t going to back off so easily when her favorite part of the matchmaking process was planning the perfect wedding.

So that was why she found herself in Lex’s office a few minutes later with the cursed piece of paper still clutched in her hand. Lana was too busy rubbing her nose against a huge bouquet of tulips (orange today, she noticed) to bother about who was walking into her boss' office.

“Two bouquets in two days? I think you’re spoiling her, Lex.” She tried not to sound bitter.

Lex laughed. “The yellows ones weren’t from me. They were from Harvey.”

Norma’s eyes grew wide at the new information. She had just found another incentive to press the issue. Harvey would surely send flowers to his helpful planner, right?

“Let me see what you’re smothering with your hand. I assume that’s why you had to see my so urgently.”

“Yes.” Norma gave him the document, praying for the best. “I need your help finding a loophole I can use against Donna. Can you believe she had the audacity to leave me out like this? Unbelievable. It’s not like I was going to ignore all her input.”

Lex gave her a sympathetic smile which soon changed to an apologetic one. “I’m afraid I’ll need your help on something if I’m going to do this.”

“What is it? As long as you find me that loophole, I’ll do anything short of getting your girl more flowers.”

“I need you to find someone for Seth.”

Norma pinched her ears. “Excuse me? Seth Keller? Your inappropriate associate?”

“Yes. He’s been looking at me with sad eyes since yesterday and it’s not sitting well with me.” Lex sighed. His associate had found out that he had asked his secretary out. Why did he have to be so popular among his teammates?

“Aww, you care about him.” Norma teased. “I suppose I could find him a sugar daddy that would enjoy his creepy attention. Doesn’t he have a huge debt to pay off? That’s why he’s after you.”

Lex instantly got defensive. “He’s not like that. He may come across as inappropriate, childish, shallow, selfish, rude…” He stopped himself. This was supposed to be a sales pitch. “Well, you know what he’s like. But with proper coaching and a right match, I believe he’ll be able to get off my back and go bother someone else on a long-term basis.”

The matchmaking queen rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Harvey wasn’t the only one in the firm who enjoyed a good challenge.

“Hey, just so we’re clear, what happens if there’s no loophole to find? ‘Cause I really need you to help out Seth.” Lex had tried talking to his associate over some comfort food yesterday but Seth had been too busy devouring the snack to pay attention to what he was saying. So he had tried again this morning but Seth had refused to come to his office.

“Oh, if you can’t find a loophole, it’s going to cost you dearly. My fees are quite high since I guarantee my clients impeccable service and eternal happiness.”

“I’m sure we can work out some kind of a family/friends discount here. We’re all part of a big, happy family.” Lex gave her his most charming smile.

“Nuh-uh. That smile doesn’t work on me. Save it for your team and clients.” Norma shook her head even though she found the smile a little bit endearing. There was a reason why the senior partner had many adoring fans. It was only a matter of time that he got himself a proper fan club. She didn’t think that it would get acknowledged by the firm but it didn’t mean that Lex couldn’t enjoy the power he had over the helplessly horny employees who never really got a chance to get laid outside the office.

_Knock-knock._

Lana appeared in the doorway with a frightened look on her face. “Excuse me, Norma. Louis is asking for you. Should I call 911? It sounded like he was going to have a heart attack.”

“He sounds like that very often these days. Nothing to worry about, my dear. But I should still get going. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to write the obituary.” Norma left the office and hurried back to her area, wondering what was bothering her fragile boss this time.

 

Louis was pacing in his office like a teenage boy who hadn’t been able to find a date to his prom. He had already taken some pills for his heart but he dreaded that his time might be coming.

‘Individuals with too much talent are known to have died young. Ah, why couldn’t my mother have given birth to an ordinary child?’ He shuddered at the idea of meeting his doom and wondered if this was a good time to seek a religion.

‘What does Harvey believe in? Whatever he believes in, I’ll believe in the opposite.’ He didn’t care if that meant signing up his soul for a strange folk religion or getting involved in witchcraft. He just despised those who were equally talented as himself but who had also managed to force love potion down the throat of the objects of their desire.

‘Just like my cocky, useless brother.’ Louis glared at the wedding invitation that was taunting him from the coffee table. That was why he had to see his secretary immediately.

“Louis, what’s the problem this time?” Norma walked into the office and made herself comfortable on the couch.

“Liam’s getting married! To an actual human being! I checked her out online and I think she really exists! This is so unfair!” Louis fumed with indignation. Life could be so cruel to those who were special like him.

“What do you want me to do? I meant it the other day when I said I don’t take out people in cold blood.” Norma crossed her legs and picked up the invitation. Given how Louis’ older brother was much more unpleasant than her boss, it did seem a little unfair.

Louis was down on his knees before she could even finish reading.

“Uh, no thanks. I’m not going to marry you.” Norma took out the small bottle of pills from the inside pocket of his jacket, trying not to touch the man. Perhaps he had taken a little too many.

“I’m not asking you to marry me. I need you to find me a girlfriend, Norma. I can’t go to his wedding alone and get humiliated.”

“There are escort services for that, you know. Just ask for someone who’s into acting.” Norma checked how many pills were left in the bottle and realized with disappointment that he hadn’t taken enough to rest in peace.

“But he’s like a hooker-radar! He’ll see right through it and things will only get worse!” Louis grabbed her legs in despair. She was the only one who could help him.

“Then why don’t you ask someone who owes you to return the favor?” Norma shook off her boss. She didn’t need the sausage smell on her new skirt.

“But they are all guys! He knows I’m not gay. I really need your help, Norma. What do you want? How much do you want?” Louis sat next to her and took her hand in his. He didn’t care what kind of a relationship they had shared until now. He was willing to put the past behind him and make her his ally. In the presence of a greater enemy, there was no point in battling against a lesser one.

Norma frowned and pulled her hand out of his grip. “First rule, no hands on me.”

Louis nodded hard until he felt slightly light-headed.

“Second rule, I want flowers on my desk every Monday morning.”

Louis grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and started writing them down. He had thought about not attending the wedding of doom but it would break his mother’s heart.

“Third rule, if you harass this woman in any way, I’m calling the police myself.”

“Wait a second. I’ve never harassed anyone.”

Norma gave his left arm a pointed look.

“Point taken. Carry on.” Louis felt like he was the secretary.

“Good. Let’s talk prices now. I’ll have to charge more since it would be nearly impossible to find you an actual human being. But don’t worry. If I fail, you’ll get your money back.”

The junior partner’s face hardened. “I thought your success rate was 100%.”

“It is. But there’s always an exception to the rule. And, let me make something clear. I’m not doing this out of the kindness of my heart or because I feel any kind of affection for you. I simply despise your brother and refuse to see him gloat.” Norma clearly remembered how condescending and disrespectful he had been.

“Thank you, Norma. Thank you.” Louis had to restrain himself from touching her again. “Have I ever told you that you’re an angel?”

“No. But it would be nice if you could help me become the co-wedding planner of Marvey’s wedding.”

Louis was giving her a death glare now. “Wow, bringing them together wasn’t enough? Do you even understand that Harvey’s my biggest rival?”

“Well, last time I checked, he didn’t look it that way. Listen, do you want my help or not? You can either stomach the fact that I’ll get them married or go to Liam’s wedding alone and suffer in his hands. Your choice.”

Louis huffed and puffed for a while before glaring at Norma with less hate in his eyes. “Fine. Let’s do this.”

And, just like that, Norma had acquired two new clients and two helpers in a matter of half an hour.

 

Later that afternoon, Harvey was waiting for the elevator on his floor at Pearson-Hardman when a man came to stand right next to him. Only Mike stood that closely to him so Harvey gave him an affectionate nudge in the shoulder and turned to his right, only to see a pale boy with blue eyes who _wasn’t_ his Mike.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Specter. It looks genuine, doesn’t it?” Harold smiled proudly as he pointed at the Harvey wig on his head. Mike had been very kind to give it to him after using it as a prop in their ‘All things Harvey’ study group.

Harvey had to admit that it looked eerily similar to his immaculate coiffure but there was only one room for such perfect hair on the twenty-eighth floor. “Listen, Harry…”

“Oh, I like that nickname, sir. It makes me feel important like Harry Potter!” Harold beamed and left a message on the club’s Facebook page with his phone that Harvey had just given him the best nickname ever.

Harvey could picture his boyfriend giving him an earful about how he treated the other associates like lowly bugs, so he did one of the things that went against every fiber of his being. “What’s your name again?”

“Harry’s fine, Mr. Specter. You can call me any way you want. Plus, I’d prefer Harry to Hagrid any time.”

Harvey thought about warning him that he would probably call him by a different name every time he ran into him, but the elevator had arrived and it was time to step inside.

“Just don’t wear it in the office again, okay?” On any other day, he would have given the kid the lecture of his life but today he didn’t have time for that. There was an important guest waiting for him in the lobby.

Meanwhile, Mike had come back from the fax room and saw that Harvey’s office was empty. He had only been gone for a few minutes and Harvey had particularly ordered him to get back quickly so they could go over the Hebb briefs.

“Uh, Donna, where’s Harvey?” He asked as Donna got out of her area and fixed his tie. “What’s going on?”

“He’s gone down to greet his mother. They’ll be here any minute.” Donna tried to make Mike’s hair look more presentable but it wasn’t easy when Harvey had gripped it only half an hour ago.

Mike froze with absolute terror in his eyes. Harvey had told him several anecdotes about her and he had laughed at them with tears of shock. “His mother? Is that a nice way of referring to an old client that he deeply cares about or his actual mother?”

Donna laughed and patted him on the cheek. “Relax, Mike. She’s not going to hate you.”

“But she’s _Harvey’s_ mother! She probably hates everyone except Harvey!”

“As long as you don’t wet your pants, I think you’ll be fine.”

“You know what. That’s excellent advice. I should hit the men’s room just to be safe. I wish he had given me the heads up though. This is too much of a surprise.” Mike said as Donna sprayed something in his mouth and made him smell all flowery.

“Harvey didn’t know. And, you might want to read this.” Donna handed him a black file that read ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ on the front.

“What is this?” Mike opened the file and read the first few lines.

“Whatever you need to know about her, it’s in that file.” Donna bent down and started polishing the front of his shoes.

“You couldn’t have prepared this in five minutes.” Mike kept his eyes on the file, absorbing the contents as fast as possible.

“Of course not. I had it ready for an emergency like this. And, I didn’t give it to you sooner because then you wouldn’t have got any sleep ever since. Now go run to the boys’ room already.”

“Oh right.” Mike rushed down the hallway, still reading the file. Harvey had taught him that first impressions lasted so it was obvious that he had to bring his A-game.

By the time Mike came back and peered into the office, there was a rigid-looking woman with short blond hair wearing a black pants suit, owning the couch. Donna was serving her a cup of tea and Harvey was opening a gift, sitting next to his mother. From where he was standing, he couldn’t see what was inside the small box.

“Thanks, Blossom. I hope this tastes better than those questionable laboratory-made liquids Professor Utonium makes you for tea.”

“Haha, you’re welcome. And, if it tastes bad, you can blame your own son. He’s the one who selected this particular brand.”

Mike breathed out a sigh of relief as he recognized the Powerpuff Girl references. It was once again confirmed that Donna was truly a life saver and a real badass.

“Well, Blossom, I see that you brought your sister to work today. You must be Bubble. Now all you need to do is fetch Buttercup and you can go off to save the world with your sisters, spilling your heart wherever you go.” Harvey’s mother addressed the boy who looked terrified yet determined, standing in the doorway.

“Mother, meet Mike Ross. Mike, meet my mother Sue Specter.” Harvey introduced them to each other as Mike cautiously approached the couch, wondering what the appropriate behavior was to greet his future mother-in-law.

“Mrs. Specter, it’s such a pleasure to ahhh!…” Mike rubbed his right cheek where Harvey’s mother had just pinched him. The woman had a very strong grip.

“Where did you find this malleable puppy, cub? Now I see what’s keeping you from picking up the phone and calling your mother who’s often dying with boredom. There’s only so much you can torture your neighbors without getting the police all over your back. Does he have a collar yet? I think red would be a fantastic choice.”

“No, mother. We’re taking things slowly. I don’t want to scare him.”

“Well, you my dear have always had more patience than I ever did. If I were you, he’d already be jumping through fire hoops and getting shot out of recreational cannons by now.”

Mike thought that he was going to pass out. What was wrong with this mother and son? If his mother had still been alive, would they have had such a horrible conversation too?

“Well, Bubble, sit down. You look like you’re going to hit that pretty head of yours on the table and make a mess on the floor.”

Mike sat down as quickly as possible.

“Hmm, he’s well-trained but he doesn’t look like Specter material so far. Too soft, too scared. I didn’t think weak puppies were your type, cub.”

“Oh, he can bite, mother. Do you want to see it?”

Mike jumped at the sight of Harvey loosening his tie. “No, Harvey! Please!”

Harvey gave his associate a naughty grin to let him know that he had only been joking. It was a good thing that Donna had given him the number of that couple counselor after all. If she was really the best in her field, she could probably cure his boyfriend if he ended up getting scarred.

Sue took a sip of her tea and nodded. “Penetrative eyesex, I see. Smart choice for a workplace. No need for protection and nobody gets STD. But I think it’ll only make you hungrier, cub. Did you let the puppy get messy around here? Am I sitting on dried drops of happy, creamy tears as fangirls with hormone levels that are higher than the Empire State refer to in their unpublished online romance novels?”

“Mother, there’s nothing Donna can’t take care of. You know that. The couch is as clean as a new one.”

‘Oh my god…’ All this time, Mike had assumed that it was Harvey who had cleaned up the mess while he had left to fetch them beverages. If he had wanted to pass out before, he now wanted to pass _away_. He could just love Harvey from far and beyond.

“At least you got yourself a healthy puppy, cub. Less medical bills.” Sue downed the rest of her tea in one go. She had never really learned how to be patient with such trivial matters.

“Now, let’s see if you’re a champion, Bubble. The Specters are all proven champions. My grandfather was the three-time national champion of pheasant hunting, my parents are the champions of going after the useless Nazis, and my dear sister was the champion of brightening everyone’s day. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of what kind of a champion I am, since my cub must’ve gushed about my impressive record at any available moment. Now, tell me what you can do better than your sisters so I can see if you’ll make a worthy Specter.”

Mike’s eyes shot to Harvey’s. He couldn’t tell her that he was the champion of brightening Harvey’s nights so he went for the safer option. “Uh, I have an eidetic memory.”

“Ah, a memory champion.”

Sue pulled out an envelope from her purse and handed it over to Mike. It was an envelope that she carried around with her at all times. “This is a list of the numerous trophies and awards I got as the unprecedentedly brilliant coach of the cheerleading team. I want them recited in the order of importance without a single detail left out.”

Mike’s face lit up at the challenge. The list was almost identical to the one that was inside the file so his nervousness wasn’t going to be a problem. And, he had paid close attention to many sports teams in his high-school when he had been on the wrestling team so he had a good idea of which awards were the most important ones.

By the time Mike had finished reciting the list and had added a compliment at the end, Harvey’s face was splitting with pride.

“Okay, champ. I think you should’ve switched the last two but it’s possible that I’m a little biased. The record doesn’t mention it but they had kindly let me get a kiss from the best looking man in North America. It was an additional prize and he even signed my breasts. Ah, my girls were so much younger back then.”

Mike thought about saying that her breasts still looked lovely but he was quite sure that it wasn’t appropriate even for an inappropriate woman.

“I think you could still kill a few dozen guys with them, mother. But if you want to ensure their deaths, you know you have one of my credit cards.”

Mike smiled at how Sue patted her son’s arm with affection. When it came to loving her child, she was just like any other mother.

“Anyway, you passed the test, Bubble. And, if there’s something I enjoy almost as much as mocking idiots, it’s rewarding the less idiotic ones.” Sue pushed the small gift box across the coffee table.

“Oh, I thought this was for Harvey.” Mike looked at his boyfriend who gave him an encouraging nod.

When he opened the box and looked inside, Mike had to admit that it wasn’t what he had expected to see. There were stacks of business cards that read:

_Mike Specter  
Associate of senior partner, Harvey Specter_

“I thought about putting sickeningly bright rainbows in the background so nobody would think you guys were just cousins that liked to fool around with each other in full moon, but I didn’t want my cub to resent me.”

“But, mother, I haven’t even officially asked him yet.” Harvey spoke for the both of them.

“Well, as I said, you have always had more patience than your mother. Now if you horny boys will excuse me, I’ll let myself out before you start throwing your DNAs all around the room, marking the glasses and spilling the dirtiest words into each other’s mouths.”

Sue stepped outside and gave Donna a small nod before looking back inside the office. Her precious son had managed to find someone who was willing to spend the rest of his life with him. It was the one thing that she had failed in her life but her son had overcome his genes and had surpassed her, proving that he was the champion of all champions just like she had always wanted him to be.

‘Doesn’t that silly kid know just how long people live these days? What if my cub lives much longer than he thinks?’ She ordered her heart not to get warmed at the sight of the boys looking at each other with love in their eyes.

“He’s not going to let him down.” Donna offered gently.

“I know, Blossom. I’m just annoyed his grandmother might sue me for raising a lion that can’t stop eating his prey over and over again. I know what my cub looks like when he’s awfully hungry.” Sue took one last look at the happy smile on her son’s face and turned on her heel. She had seen enough.

 


	28. Battle royal

  
_Previously in ‘The Marvey Chronicles’…  
Norma had been outraged to find out that Donna was going to be Marvey’s sole wedding planner and had got Lex and Louis to help her in exchange for finding someone for Seth and Louis respectively. Harvey’s mother had visited her son at the office and after throwing inappropriate comments and testing Mike’s memory and knowledge on sport, she had given Mike business cards that read: Mike Specter._

 

On Friday afternoon, Norma was still fuming with the same piece of paper in her hands. She had given three days to two partners of this highly successful firm but neither of them had been able to find a loophole for her. ‘Mike actually put that much effort into this? I know I should feel proud of him but I think Harvey’s not giving him enough work these days!’

Then she realized that no blame should ever be placed on Marvey. ‘It’s all Donna’s fault. She must’ve given the puppy the eyes of all evil!’

Norma turned around in her area and grabbed the waste basket before ripping the document to shreds. She could see out of the corner of her eyes that Louis was gaping at her roughness but she didn’t care. The man had failed her on the most important occasion and she felt a strong urge to feed him to an alien of her choice.

‘I refuse to go down like this. Perhaps I could offer to find her a suitable match in exchange. But I already have to find someone for Seth and Louis! There’s no point in becoming the wedding planner if I die with fatigue before the wedding!’ Norma prided herself in being a strong woman but working on three WIPs while holding a day job would be too much even for her.

‘I need to do _something_ before Harvey proposes tomorrow. I am not going to sit here and watch the boys drift apart. It’s so silly that most people think a matchmaker’s job is done once the couple agrees to get married.’

Norma let out a disgruntled growl and got up from her seat. She had wanted to deal with the problem within the law but she was running out of time. Thankfully, there were other ways to get what she wanted.

“Hi, Mike.” Norma felt a little bit better as she spotted the cute associate in the hallway. Ever since he had moved into his boss’ office, it hadn’t been easy to see him.

“Hi, Norma. Is it true that you’re looking for the future Mrs. Litt?” Mike asked as he adjusted the stack of copies in his arms.

“Yes. It’s bound to be the toughest challenge of my life.” Norma sighed dramatically.

“Does that mean you haven’t deemed him hopeless?”

“Well, I can always extend the search to the whole universe. With some luck, I might find a Martian or a Neptunian who wouldn’t mind having a human beaver around. He’d make a unique pet.”

Mike laughed as he pictured a tall, gray creature with long, purple hair carrying the junior partner around with her four arms.

“Hey, do you happen to know if Donna’s in her area?” As much as she would like to keep chatting with Mike, she was on a time-sensitive mission.

“I think she’s still taking a beauty break in the ladies’ lounge.”

“A beauty break? She’s taking a nap?”

“Uh, no, I think she said something about a facial.”

Norma’s mood got bad again. ‘Trying to look nice for the wedding already. Once I get to be a wedding planner too, I’ll go to that place where all the Hollywood Jennifers go to. Louis can pay for it.’

Giving Mike the softest smile manageable in the upsetting situation, she headed towards the ladies’ lounge. The problem was going to be dealt with once and for all.

 

When the matchmaking queen opened the door to the small lounge, she was greeted by two women with mud on their faces. Judging by the hair color and fashion style, they looked like Donna and Rachel.

“Do you want to join us? There’s still plenty in the container.” Rachel pointed at the table, trying to move as few facial muscles as possible. She had just put on the mud pack.

Norma wanted to say yes but she didn’t think that she would look serious enough with mud on her face. “No thanks. I only came to offer Donna the last chance to share her position peacefully.”

Donna sat up and closed her magazine. Her coworker had been suspiciously quiet for the past couple of days. “Norma, I’m not going to mess up their relationship and I’m going to listen to everyone’s opinion so let it go.”

“No. If you really care about Marvey, you will put me on the team. I’m a proved champion and you know how Harvey feels about champions.” Norma knew that the senior partner’s mother had used to be a successful cheerleading coach.

“Well, you know how he feels about _me_.” Donna snorted. “Besides, I know both of them better than anyone else in the office.”

“That’s not true. Rachel knows Mike better than you do.”

The paralegal was startled. She would very much prefer not to get involved. “Uh, I think we all know Mike pretty well. He’s open and friendly like that…”

“At least I know Mike better than _you_ do. Can we talk about this later? I can’t move my mouth much.” Donna didn’t want to get new wrinkles when she was trying to get rid of the old ones.

“We don’t really need to talk, Donna. All you need to do is nod prettily before I resort to unnecessary measures.”

“And, what would those be?” Like any other woman in Pearson-Hardman, Donna didn’t respond well to threats.

“I may or may not have sensitive information to pass to Harvey. I’m sure you wouldn’t want him to know about your little tricks.” Norma put her hands on her waist and put on her mean face.

“Oh, please. Don’t make it sound like I use his credit card behind his back. He already knows I like to give myself a small gift with his money every once in a while. And, I’m done talking because the mud is starting to dry.” Donna opened her magazine and resumed reading.

“Just say that we’ll plan it together, will you? It’s not like I’m going to sabotage the wedding! I’m trying to help here! Don’t make me sing like a bird in Harvey’s office. There might still be things that would make him irritated.” Norma couldn’t understand why her fellow secretary was being so petty. She just wanted to make sure that the boys enjoyed a successful wedding and that she got a little credit. Was that really so bad?

Donna brushed off Norma’s last words with ease. She had nothing to hide to her boss. “Of course I know you mean well, honey. But we’re both control freaks and I’m already taking the back seat in The Marveyed. I simply can’t allow that to happen again when preparing the boys’ wedding is much more important to me than running the fan club.”

Norma appreciated her honesty but that didn’t mean she was willing to back off. “What if I give you my words that I’ll respect your input as much as I can?”

Donna shook her head, refusing to speak any longer, now that the mud was nicely tightening her face. Rachel was right; this mud pack did feel different.

“You really think that stupid mud pack is more important than our discussion?” Norma snapped. “That’s how much respect you have for me? No wonder you have a problem being second-in-command in the club.”

Donna gave her colleague a look. As a fellow female, Norma would surely know the importance of a good facial.

“Well, you keep working on your wrinkles while I go talk some sense into Harvey then. I deserve to be co-planner and you can’t have all the good things around here all the time!” Norma turned around. She wondered how much bad karma she had accumulated in her past life to have met a boss like Louis while Donna had met one like Harvey. They both cleaned up their bosses’ messes but only one of them got enough appreciation and that same one now assisted a _senior_ partner. And, now, that same woman wanted to plan an important wedding on her own when it wasn’t even her expertise. It was simply unacceptable.

The fact that Donna made no attempt to stop her from talking to Harvey made her even more resentful. So despite knowing that she was better than this, she walked up to the perfect woman who had everything and did something childish.

“Oh my god!!” Rachel screamed as Norma threw herself at Donna and started to scratch the mud off her face.

“What is your problem?!” Donna tried to push her away but she wouldn’t budge. So she went for Norma’s hair.

“Ahh!! Let go!” Norma gripped Donna’s hand and tried to get her fingers out of her hair.

“Promise me you’ll keep your hands to yourself!”

“That’s what _you_ should promise _me_! You can’t have everything! You do your job and I’ll do mine!” Norma grabbed a handful of red hair and pulled.

“Oh god!! Help! Someone, help!!” Rachel hurried out of the lounge with mincing steps and the mud pack on, scaring Gregory and Harold in the hallway. They had been trying to guess how many other love bites Mike had apart from the one that was visible above his collar.

“Heeek! A mud monster!!” Harold had never been a fan of monsters since he was a little boy so he tried to bolt, but the monster grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the lounge. Gregory followed them, wondering what had made the usually composed paralegal look so agitated.

All three of them stood dead in their tracks when they saw what was going on. The secretaries were engaged in a cat fight that was difficult to watch without wincing. There was hair pulling, scratching, kicking, and shouting mean things at each other. The only thing missing was biting but Gregory supposed that one couldn’t bite and insult someone at the same time.

“I know you’ve always wanted my place but guess what? Harvey’s always going to choose _me_! You creep him out!” Donna pushed Norma into the fridge. How dare she mess with her beauty break?

“Oh, you think he belongs to you, don’t you? Well, guess what? He belongs to Mike now! How do you feel about that? He’s always going to belong to Mike! Your days are over!” Norma retaliated by scratching Donna’s neck.

“Don’t just stand there! Do something!” Rachel yelled at the two associates who had gone pale.

Gregory cautiously approached Norma but got elbowed in the ribs while Harold threw his arms around Donna’s waist to pull her back but got kicked in the shin. “Oww!”

The boys tried to break up the fight again but all they managed was getting new bruises. So Rachel ran out of the lounge once more to get the best closer in the firm.

Harvey and Mike were on the couch, going over some briefs, when Rachel burst in.

“Rachel…? Is that you?” Mike gasped as he recognized the dark gray pencil skirt.

“Mr. Specter! Please!” Rachel boldly tugged at Harvey’s sleeves, too panicked to give him an explanation. Harvey sensed the urgency and followed her out of the office in quick steps.

Mike picked up his phone from his desk as he rushed after them. “Do I need to call an ambulance?”

“I don’t know!” Rachel’s voice was frantic.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Is someone hurt?” Mike asked again, puzzled.

“I said I don’t know! Look for yourself!” Rachel swung the door open and let go of Harvey’s arm.

Apparently, there had been new participants in the arena since Louis and Kyle were playing the role of Gregory and Harold while the real Gregory and Harold were nursing their injuries in a corner.

“What is going on here?” Harvey’s firm voice cut through the air and got everyone’s attention. There was suddenly no movement in the lounge.

“Your secretary’s assaulting mine! That’s what’s going on here!” Louis finally pulled off his secretary from Harvey’s and took a few steps back.

“Assault is a very serious offense, Louis. You better know what you’re accusing her of.” Harvey glanced at Donna whose face was partially covered in mud. He had seen many different appearances of hers but this was certainly a new one.

“She’s the one who started it! She scratched my face and messed up my pack!” Donna pointed an accusing finger at Norma who was struggling to get out of Louis’ grip to carry on with the fight.

Harvey groaned inwardly at the explanation, hoping that this impossibly embarrassing scene wasn’t caused by an interruption of beauty break. He fixed Donna with a look that made her feel a little guilty and walked out of the lounge. “In my office. Now.”

“Uh, maybe I should call an ambulance.” Mike muttered as he looked around the lounge. They had a nurse in the building but he had a feeling that she would have her hands full with Harold who couldn’t stop moaning in pain when he couldn’t see any visible injury on him.

“What was the fight about?” Mike asked Rachel once Louis dragged Norma outside and Gregory helped Harold to go see the company nurse.

“They both want to be your wedding planner.” Rachel answered in a tired voice as she wiped the mud off her face with a cleansing tissue. All she got out of the beauty break was a stiff face and a scared heart.

“Are you serious? Donna asked me to draw up those papers precisely to prevent this kind of confrontation!”

“You can talk to Donna later. I need to go put on some cream.” Rachel ended the conversation and left Mike alone in the lounge.

“Uh… so should I call that ambulance or not? Now I’m talking to myself.” Mike sighed and headed out to see if anyone actually needed external medical assistance.

 

“What were you thinking?” Harvey asked in a scolding tone as he put more ointment on Donna’s neck. He was glad that Norma didn’t have long fingernails. “Let me rephrase that. Why were you _not_ thinking?”

“She made it clear that words weren’t going to work anymore. I did what I had to do.” Donna wasn’t proud of what she had done but she didn’t feel particularly bad about it either.

“For what? Just so you can plan the wedding alone? Donna, I know that people like you and I are very reluctant to accept help but…”

“No, Harvey. I’m going to be the only one in charge. I’m not saying she’s going to screw up but I’m not willing to take any chances. It’s the one day that everything has to be perfect for you.”

Harvey would have lectured her about interrupting him but her words made him smile. He was blessed to have such a loyal friend. “Listen. I appreciate your concern but here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to apologize to Norma before Louis brings the fight to Jessica’s attention. And then, you two are going to throw us the best wedding that Mike and I could possibly imagine. Norma might get in your way every now and then but we have to admit that she’s the expert here.”

“But the papers…”

“Forget about the papers. There’s a loophole in them anyway.”

“What? You’re lying. Norma would’ve used it against me if there was one.” Donna suspected that this was one of Harvey’s mind tricks.

“Well, let’s just say it was a loophole that only the best lawyers would’ve found.”

“But Norma didn’t just show it to Louis! Lana told me she asked Lex too. Are you saying that Lex missed it?”

Harvey just scratched the corner of his mouth and put the ointment back inside the first-aid kit.

“You told him not to point it out! But why? You could’ve just made it disappear when you read the draft in the first place.”

“Mike was so proud of the paperwork and I didn’t want to ruin it for him. It’s not like those papers were going to see the inside of a court room. Besides, even if someone had found the loophole, I figured that you’d blackmail Norma. I never thought you’d take the matters into your own _hands_.”

Donna wanted to tease her old friend about how he was hopelessly in love but a puppy came flying into the office.

“Are you okay??” Mike rushed to Donna’s side and winced at the scratches that were all over her face and neck. “Does it hurt? I can still call the ambulance.”

“I’m fine, Mike. But thanks for worrying.” Donna smiled with her mud-free face.

“If it makes you feel any better, I stopped by Louis’ office and… Norma looked much, much worse.” Mike’s conspiratorial whisper made Harvey and Donna laugh.

“Let’s get back to work, Mike. And, Donna, make sure you go see the nurse the minute she’s available.”

Harvey’s angels nodded and went back to their respective seats, but Harvey could tell that there was something on his boyfriend’s mind.

“What’s wrong, puppy? Never seen a cat fight before?” He walked over to Mike’s desk and planted a kiss on his head.

“No, it’s not that. We have couple counseling tonight, don’t we? I was wondering if there was something bothering you. Or did you want to check that I was fine after meeting your mother?”

Harvey laughed and ruffled the soft, blond hair. “I just want to make sure that none of our needs are neglected, Mike. Nothing to worry about.”

“But I think our needs are the last thing that’s neglected.” Mike pointed at the love bite on his neck.

“You know what I’m talking about. And, I’m not sure if that’s the last thing. The mark has faded.” Harvey’s voice was wistful.

“Well, you said we should get back to work so you’ll have to wait to make a new one.”

“But I hate waiting.”

“I don’t know, Harvey. Your own orders.” Mike shrugged as if there was nothing he could do about it.

“Here’s your new order then. Loosen your tie and undo the top button.” Harvey ordered in a low voice as he sat on the edge of Mike’s desk.

“You’re joking, right? I have work to do!”

“It’s either that or I’m going to leave one on your face.”

Mike chuckled. “Nobody leaves a love bite on the face!”

“Then I’ll be a pioneer.” Harvey said in his typical smug voice.

Mike lifted his head for a quick kiss and as soon as he got one, he followed his orders. He knew that he would be able to get back to work sooner by giving Harvey what he wanted.

“You know what. I think I should ask the counselor if you were an aggressive animal in your previous life. You’re very territorial.”

“And it bothers you?”

“No. I’m just curious.”

“Until I put a ring on that finger, I need some kind of reassurance. I wouldn’t want anyone to think that you’re available.” Harvey caressed his associate’s cheek with his right hand.

“And, when is that going to be?” Mike asked quietly. He had told Harvey that he didn’t need a ring but if he was going to get one, he would like to know in advance. He wanted to look his very best and get dressed accordingly.

“It’s a surprise.” Harvey leaned down and started kissing down the pretty face.

“A surprise? Ahaha, we almost always spend time together, Harvey. If you sneak out to go buy a ring, I think I’d know.”

“You’re sure about that?” Harvey arrived at Mike’s neck and left a satisfying love bite on one side of it.

Mike’s brain went through the events of the past few days in mere seconds despite the obvious distraction. It sounded like Harvey already had the ring. ‘Maybe he’s bluffing. Or did he go to a jeweler’s when he told me he was going to the gym? They’re not open in the middle of the night so he couldn’t have bought it while I was asleep. But don’t they have special hours for VIPs? Oh god, I hope he didn’t spend a fortune on it. I’m a simple guy!’

“Hey, stop thinking. Try not to spoil the fun for yourself.” Harvey undid another button on Mike’s shirt and exposed more skin.

“You said one button…” Mike put up a weak protest as Harvey kissed his neck thoroughly.

“I never said that.”

“But you implied…” Mike felt like he was a gazelle caught between a tiger’s paws. “You were definitely an animal with great hunting skills, Harvey. That would explain your fixation with my neck! You used to sink your teeth into other animals’ necks!”

“I appreciate your insight into my past, Mike, but I’d rather have you use your lips for something else.” Harvey tightened his grip around the back of Mike’s neck and kissed him passionately.

Mike wanted to tell Harvey that he didn’t want to drag the brief into Monday but he had to put his highlighter down and grab a handful of Harvey’s shirt; the kiss required his full attention. All of Harvey’s kisses were different, or at least it felt that way. Mike relished learning Harvey’s mouth all over again and he hoped that he would never feel unmotivated about the particular task.

“You know, bosses usually help their employees get back to work.” Mike breathed heavily against his boss’ shoulder.

“I’m helping you relieve stress. What more can you ask for in a boss? I’m perfect.” Harvey left one more love bite before buttoning up his associate’s shirt.

“I think you’re helping me a little too often!”

“Nonsense. Lawyers are under a lot of stress, Mike. The more often, the better.”

“How can you say all that with such a straight face?” Mike chuckled.

“Because I know it’ll make you laugh.” Harvey smiled and Mike had to get up and kiss his boyfriend again.

 

That evening, Harvey was holding Mike’s hand while Ray drove them home from the counselor’s office. Mike had fallen asleep but Harvey was busy thinking about their session. The counselor had thought that their relationship was imbalanced; heavily focused on himself. She had pointed out how Mike had moved into both his office and house and didn’t have any private space for himself. She had also mentioned that since there’s already an imbalance of power in their working relationship, it was extremely important to make Mike feel like he was a solid member of their personal relationship. Mike had laughed it off but Harvey had felt that it was a wake-up call. Many things had changed rapidly for Mike and they hadn’t really talked about it.

“Hey, puppy, we’re home.” Harvey gave Mike’s hand a gentle squeeze and watched his blue eyes come back to life.

“Already?” Mike rubbed his eyes with his free hand and let out a yawn.

“Yeah.” Harvey reluctantly let go of the warm hand and stepped out of the town car. “Good night, Ray.”

Mike said his goodbyes to the driver as well and hurried after Harvey.

“You’re awfully quiet. You didn’t like the lady?” Mike asked as he admired the view from Harvey’s private elevator.

“She was all right.” Harvey kept his hands inside his coat pockets so that he wouldn’t reach out and touch his boyfriend.

“Then what’s the problem? You wanted to make out in the car?”

Harvey snorted. “I think we need to talk before making out for once. I hear that some people actually eat first and then have sex. We should try it.”

“What?! Are you sure you heard it right? Why would someone want to do that?” Mike asked in mock surprise.

Harvey laughed and let Mike get off the elevator first. “Tell me what you want me to order for dinner. Then we’ll try talking. Doctor’s orders.”

“Bah, there’s a reason why I never liked doctors. And, I choose Chinese. Make sure we get the complimentary dumplings.” Mike took off his shoes carelessly before he remembered that he should arrange them neatly.

“Thanks for trying.” Harvey smiled and kissed his associate on the forehead.

“You’re welcome. You can repay me later by letting me open both of our fortune cookies.”

Mike started to take off his coat and jacket as he headed to the bedroom while Harvey tore his eyes off his boyfriend and reached for the phone. He felt the urge to follow Mike and help him get undressed but he had to resist it. He was going to propose tomorrow so the talk couldn’t wait. Besides, if the talk went well, he might get an even more eager Mike in bed tonight.

 

“So what did you want to talk about?” Mike swallowed a spoonful of wantan soup and hummed appreciatively.

“About what you want. If there’s something you’d like to change in our relationship, I need to know. This is the time to speak up, Mike.” Harvey took a bite of his dumpling.

“Harvey, the counselor’s job is to make us doubt things. I’m fine. I feel like I’m in a solid relationship and my life has never been better. Now, can you pass me the tofu please?”

Harvey frowned as he handed over the plate. He realized that he wasn’t going to get anything out of his boyfriend this way. He had to change tactics.

“Any objections regarding my love bites for instance? Perhaps you want me to keep them below the collar?” Harvey usually practiced that principle but he got carried away last night when Mike had told him that he was happy.

“Yeah, it would be nice if they’re not visible. The fans shot holes with their eyes in my neck all day. I think someone even took a picture when I was in the fax room!”

“What about sleeping on the right side of the bed? Do you want the left side?” The counselor had emphasized how improvement started with small changes.

“Haha, no thanks. I usually sleep on my right side so when I open my eyes, you’re the first thing I see in the morning. I don’t want that to change.”

Harvey reached out and took Mike’s hand that wasn’t holding the chopsticks. He might be the one with a silver tongue but he could never say adorable things like that with such ease. Relief washed over him as he realized that he was the only one who got to hear such words from Mike. He didn’t want that to change. “Where did you learn how to speak like that?”

“From Grammy.” Mike answered proudly as he skillfully ate another piece of tofu with his chopsticks.

Harvey smiled. Another thing that he admired about his young boyfriend was that he was humble enough to remember the ones who had taught him. He knew that it had nothing to do with Mike’s perfect memory; Mike just knew how to appreciate the people around him.

“I love you.” Harvey hoped that the words would convey at least some of his feelings.

Mike was surprised. He obviously knew that Harvey loved him but despite living together, it wasn’t easy to hear those words. “Love you too. Although I’m not sure what made you spurt out your undying love for me. Is it my mean chopstick skills?” He moved his chopsticks like a crab moving its claws.

“But of course. What else could it be?”

“Well, if that’s the case, I should abuse these skills to get some sweet words pouring out of your mouth.” Mike smirked and picked up a pea from the salad bowl. “Ta-da!”

“Nicely done.” Harvey knew how skillful Mike’s fingers were, if his actions in bed were any indication, but he was still impressed.

“And, you’re going to eat it nicely. Aaah~” Mike held the pea right in front of his boyfriend’s mouth.

“I am perfectly capable of eating a pea on my own, Mike.” Harvey protested but opened his mouth so that Mike could drop the pea.

“Oh, really? Let me see it then. You only get one chance.” There was a wicked glint in Mike’s eyes.

“A piece of cake.” Harvey grabbed his chopsticks and had just picked up a pea when Mike’s bare foot rubbed against his crotch.

“Hey! That’s cheating.” Harvey’s fingers slipped and the pea landed on the table.

“I never said I’d be still!” Mike stuck out his tongue.

“Very mature, puppy.” Harvey pulled his chair back so he could finish his dinner in peace. “Speaking of sex, if you want to top more often, all you need to do is ask.”

“Nah, I’m good with our 90:10 ratio. I work hard at the office so I like to lie back and let you do most of the work.”

“Fair enough. We also have to talk about you taking my family name. I personally think it would help your career but I’d understand even if you want to keep your own name.”

Mike laughed. “Yes, it would probably help my career, but you’d love me to be Mike Specter because it would satisfy your inner territorial animal.”

“I’m not going to deny that.” Harvey thought about how nice ‘Mike Specter’ sounded in his ears.

“Is there anything _you_ want to change?” Mike thought that it was only fair to ask.

“Well, I’d like you to use one of the guestrooms. I’ll get Gloria to clear out the bigger one so you can have it all to yourself. You can do the interior decoration again if you want to. I should’ve done this sooner. Sorry about that.” Harvey finished his broth and put the last dumpling on Mike’s plate.

Mike smiled as he enjoyed the dumpling. “I’m not sure what I need a private room for but that’s very sweet of you. And, Harvey, stop feeling guilty. That’s what a relationship is about, right? We adjust to each other every day and figure things out together. You didn’t do anything wrong and if I have a problem, I’ll let you know.”

Before Harvey could bomb him with more questions, Mike quickly picked up the fortune cookies. They would have a lifetime to talk to each other. There was no need to cover all the items on Harvey’s list in one evening.

“Okay, which one do you want?” Mike let Harvey choose.

“The handsome one.”

“Harvey, these are fortune cookies. Which one is the handsome one?”

“The one on the left, obviously.” Harvey grinned.

Mike shook his head and opened the cookie. “ _Never underestimate the power of the human touch_. Ahaha, yes, my foot did have a powerful effect on your poor pea!”

“Let me see that. You’re making it up.” Harvey snatched the tiny roll of paper from Mike’s hands.

“No, I’m not. See for yourself, ahaha.”

Mike opened his own cookie while Harvey verified that the message wasn’t fabricated. “Let’s see. Mine says, _Treasure what you have_.”

“I guess that means me.” Harvey held his head high.

Mike thought that Harvey looked adorable when he was smug like that. “Yeah, I think so too.”

Mike’s foot came in contact with Harvey’s crotch again and the kitchen was filled with a long groan.

“Would you like to know more about the power of the human touch?” Mike licked his lips and curled his toes against the front of Harvey’s pants.

“Do I really have a choice?” Harvey took hold of Mike’s right foot and tickled the sole.

“Ahahaha…”

Mike’s laughter was so carefree that Harvey was finally convinced that they were fine. But he was still going to give Mike one of the guestrooms and try to put himself in his boyfriend’s shoes as often as he could.

“Where do you want us to be?” Mike asked as he quickly counted, in his head, how many condoms were left near which surface in the house.

“You choose.” Harvey gently massaged the foot.

“Aww, such a gentleman. Is it wrong to use the kitchen table for two very different purposes in under an hour?”

“Well, the cookie said that we should treasure what we have. This is what we have.” Harvey tapped at the table.

Mike chuckled. “Okay. If you still want to talk, you can tell me how much you love me.”

“You’re pushing it.” Harvey cleared the table and let Mike climb on it.

“You asked me if I wanted anything. I want you to tell me you love me in a hundred different ways.” Mike lay down and undid the button on his jeans.

“I knew that counseling was a bad idea.” Harvey joked as he got rid of his shirt and joined his puppy on the table.

“Start talking.” Mike ordered while Harvey felt like he was suddenly raising a wolf. He honestly didn’t know what he was supposed to say. He didn’t want to drop lines that he had once used for his one-night stands.

“No talking, no love bites.” Mike made things simple.

Harvey covered Mike’s body with his own and started with a gentle kiss. He figured that the words would come naturally as he got into the mood. Mike ran his hands along Harvey’s arms and pulled him closer. Harvey had always been careful not to crush him but he needed to feel his boyfriend’s heart beating through his own chest.

“You’re okay?” Harvey had to check if his weight wasn’t too much for Mike’s lithe physique.

“I love this. I love _you_.”

Mike’s heartfelt confession vibrated through both of their chests and Harvey knew exactly what he wanted to say. “Mike, you’re the only interesting merger case in the whole wide world.”

Mike beamed as Harvey happily nipped his neck. The words were uniquely Harvey.

“Get that pretty mouth up here again.” Mike put his hands on Harvey’s face and poured everything into the kiss. He was shaking with the joy of being loved and there could be no better feeling than this. This feeling was what made him stronger and he wanted Harvey to feel the same way.

Harvey matched Mike’s passion behind the kiss and realized that he had never felt so powerful. It was better than beating a tricky opposing counsel in court, dominating two models in bed, and driving a Tesla. What he felt right now was nothing like he had ever experienced. It felt so stupid that he had once thought, not even a very long time ago, that people got weaker when they found someone to love. It was apparently the opposite. Mike was what made him lead a fuller life and wasn’t that what everyone wanted in the end?

The couple broke the kiss to get some air inside their lungs. Thankfully, they didn’t need words anymore. They had their gazes, touches, and smiles to show each other their love.

 


	29. One step closer to happiness

  
_Previously in ‘The Marvey Chronicles’…_

_Overtaken by jealousy of getting to be Marvey’s sole wedding planner, Norma had attacked Donna while she was enjoying her beauty break and the cat fight had only ended when Harvey stepped inside the lounge. Harvey had asked Donna to apologize to Norma and throw Mike and him the best wedding with Norma’s expertise. Meanwhile, Harvey had gotten a wake-up call after meeting a couple’s counselor with Mike. He had realized that he hadn’t been the most considerate boyfriend and had asked Mike about some small changes that they could make. Mike had reassured him that he was fine but Harvey had promised to give him a room while Mike suspected that Harvey had already acquired the ring to propose to him one of these days._

 

‘God, how can it be this cold?’ Mike looked down at his gloves to check if there were any holes in them. It felt like the wind was cutting through his bones. He had just got out of the cab after visiting his grandmother, but apparently it took less than a minute for slender fingers to freeze. Harvey had gone out with his old buddies who were in town so he had entertained her alone. He hadn’t particularly missed him at the nursing home but he missed him now. Harvey had a higher body temperature than him and he could really use that extra warmth right now. It was the last day of the year and it looked like the year was going to end on an icy note.

‘Oh, Harvey… I guess I could freshen up and warm up the bed. I could give him some ‘welcome home’ sex and we could grab dinner.’ Mike smiled at the memories of last night as he walked into their building and headed for the elevator. Their time together had been exceptionally amazing. Harvey had been open and loving, and he just couldn’t stop looking into those beautiful eyes. Such wonderfully expressive eyes, Harvey had. And, those eyes had kept telling him how much he meant to him and how perfect they were together. Harvey had expressed his love in many different ways before, but last night was different. It had felt like they had moved to the next step of the relationship.

Mike had never really thought that someone could love him so much. It’s not like he didn’t think that he was loveable but he came with a lot of baggage. He had lost his parents at a young age, had been constantly manipulated by people who wanted to take advantage of his brain, and had cheated and faked his way through life. To think that Harvey loved him as much as he did despite knowing every bit of his past… well, he considered it a miracle.

Mike opened the door to their nest and took off his boots before putting them inside the shoe closet. He was getting better at arranging his stuff. Putting in a little effort to accommodate Harvey’s neatness didn’t seem much to do when Harvey had uncharacteristically taken a chance on letting him into his heart.

‘What’s this?’ Mike picked up the envelope that was lying on the coffee table. He had left the condo earlier than Harvey, but the senior partner usually texted him if he had something to say.

Mike unfolded the piece of paper that was inside the envelope. It was a list. On the top, it read: _How good are you at treasure hunting, puppy?_

The young lawyer instantly got giddy with excitement. “This is _my_ territory! I used to kick ass in treasure hunts when I was a kid! He remembered!”

Mike memorized the list as he read it. There were five treasures to find inside the condo. ‘Piece of cake. Give me ten minutes.’

Wondering what the treasures were, Mike took off his coat and jacket in a heartbeat. He had no idea when Harvey was going to come back and he wanted to complete the hunt before he did. ‘Maybe this is his fun way of giving me gifts. Five gifts in one day is a lot but I’m not complaining. Perhaps it’s a year-end bonus.’

In fact, he didn’t particularly need anything –Harvey made sure of that- so he would be happy even if he found crackers in each location. He was just curious to see what Harvey had prepared for him and he appreciated the creative method.

‘The first hint is ‘A shirt of mine that you spilled hot chocolate on’.’ Mike chuckled as he headed towards the walk-in closet. The first one was easy. He remembered that evening from a couple of weeks ago when Harvey had tried to surprise him from behind and he had turned around abruptly, barely managing not to burn his boyfriend’s chest. That night, he had spent half an hour kissing the flushed skin with lots of love and apologies.

‘It was this one.’ Mike found the white shirt with blue stripes and examined it with his eyes. The only place that could hold any kind of treasure was the top pocket. So he put his fingers inside the pocket, not sure what to expect. The object felt small and round, and Mike’s heart started racing. He recognized the object. It was a ring.

‘Oh my god!’ Mike jerked his hand out of the pocket and stared at the object. It really was a ring; a platinum one with golden lines twisted around the surface.

‘Why would he give me a ring? Oh gosh, is he trying to propose to me? This doesn’t feel like a simple gift!’ Mike swooned over his romantic boyfriend who might soon become his fiancé. His hands started to shake and he let out horribly childish cackles. Then his body started to move on its own accord. He was glad that Harvey wasn’t home to witness his self-congratulatory dance. His boss would have never let him live it down.

“I. Am. The. Greatest! With my ring of absolute power!” Mike put on the ring and shot his left arm to the sky. He did some mean disco moves for a minute when his legs became wobbly and he had to sit down on the floor. Reality kicked in and he got overwhelmed with emotions. Harvey, among all people, wanted him, among all people, for the rest of his life.

‘I thought I was ready.’ He had mentally prepared himself for this moment when Harvey had hinted that he might have already got the ring, but he realized that it wasn’t something one could be properly prepared for.

‘So this is why some girls faint at the sight of the ring. I always assumed it was because of the big diamond! But when did Harvey make time to buy it? I was so sure that I’d know if he had gone ring shopping! Wait… If I already found the ring, what’s in the other four locations?’ Mike stood up. It was time to carry on with the hunt.

The second hint made him stay in the closet. Mike was impressed at how Harvey had even taken his traffic line into consideration. Regardless of what he found in the other locations, Harvey was guaranteed to get some earth-shattering sex tonight. ‘So I need to find the skinny tie he hates the most. Urgh, this one’s tough. He hates so many of them!’

Mike pondered hard as three ties came to mind. The first contestant was an orange polka-dot tie. Harvey hated it so much that he had told him that the only way he could possibly keep the tie in the house was attaching positive memories to it. So every time he wore it, Harvey pulled him close by the tie and kissed him fiercely. ‘Hmm, but he might hate it a little less now. I’ve worn it several times just to get an angry kiss from him and he definitely enjoys angry kisses.’

The second contestant was a light grey tie that was a little bit skinnier than the rest of his ties. Mike remembered how shocked Harvey had been at its width. He had measured it with a tapeline and had looked even more shocked afterwards.

The third contestant was a green tie which, Harvey had insisted, was the wrong shade. Apparently any other green would have been better. When he had tried to wear the tie last week, he couldn’t find it in its usual place and had found it in the back of his sock drawer instead.

‘The third one it is.’ Mike made up his mind and opened his tie drawer. He carefully picked up the tie in question and found another ring inside the rolled up tie. This one seemed to be made out of white gold and diamonds.

‘It’s a ring! Again!’ Mike could now guess with confidence that the other three treasures were rings as well. He quickly went through the other hints to see if he was right. He could freak out about the diamonds later.

‘The first place he bottomed for me: the couch!’ Mike ran out to the living room and found the third ring from under the cushions. This one had even more diamonds embedded in gold.

‘The mug I like the most: it must be one of the Harvey mugs I got from The Marveyed.’ Mike opened the cupboard in the kitchen and took out the one where Harvey was working at his desk with his sleeves rolled up. There were very few things that were sexier than a focused Harvey Specter.

‘Yes! It was the right one!’ The fourth ring was similar to the third one but all the diamonds were concentrated in the middle. Mike briefly wondered how much all the rings cost before moving on to the last hint; the first object that they destroyed together.

“Ahaha…” Mike laughed as he thought about the unfortunate incident. They had knocked down a Chinese vase from the Ming Dynasty in the hallway as they made out like hungry animals. While he had been ready to pass out at the sound of the priceless piece of art getting smashed into pieces, Harvey had checked if he wasn’t hurt instead of examining the vase. Then he had made sure that Mike wasn’t anywhere near the broken pieces while he took care of the mess.

Mike remembered how he had sat on the couch and breathed into a brown paper bag as he watched the most expensive artifact in their condo leave them in a garbage bag. Harvey had reassured him that he had insured it but it hadn’t helped much. They had broken a valuable treasure because they hadn’t been able to control their basic urges.

‘I take full responsibility. I’m far too hot for us to make it to the bedroom with functioning legs.’ was what Harvey had said, and the serious tone had made him laugh and relax. That night, their love-making had been particularly slow and caring. Harvey had made him feel as if he was the most valuable treasure in the world.

Mike found it incredibly nice to have a quiet moment alone to reminisce about their memories. He sometimes felt that the good parts of his life rushed past him and that he didn’t get to enjoy the lingering emotions to the fullest extent.

‘This is a really sweet way to make me think about what we have together.’ Mike smiled as he realized that Harvey might know what he needed better than himself.

The last ring was inside the replica of the shattered vase. It was tungsten and looked more affordable. ‘I think now is a good time to freak out about all the diamonds! He must’ve checked the return policy, right?’

Mike took a seat on the couch with the five rings. He was touched that Harvey had given him a choice. Despite being a control freak, Harvey was willing to share control with him as much as possible.

“Ehehe…” A silly laugh escaped his lips as he tried the rings on one by one. He couldn’t tell if it was thanks to his gorgeous hand or Harvey’s impeccable taste, but all of them looked fine on him.

‘I can’t decide! And, it won’t look romantic if I ask for more time!’ Mike took pictures of his hand with each of the rings on and called his grandmother’s nurse. After shyly explaining the situation, he sent her the pictures so that she could show them to his grandmother.

“Grammy! Harvey proposed!” Mike wanted to go into details about how overwhelming it was but he didn’t have a lot of time. “Have you seen the pictures?”

“Yes, I have, Michael.”

“And?”

“And, I think you have a lovely hand thanks to my superior genes.”

“Grammy! There’s no time for jokes! Harvey’s going to come back any minute now. Which one do you like the most? It’s difficult to choose. Harvey has such good taste!”

“Well, that, he does. He chose you.”

Mike grinned. Who would have thought that the great Harvey Specter would want to marry a college dropout who had almost got caught for drug dealing? The first few chapters of his life could have been better but the current and future ones looked entirely promising. He was going to do everything in his power to keep Harvey happy so that he would never regret this day.

“Grammy, I’m down to two rings. I need your help.” Mike looked at the first and last ring. He didn’t need diamonds as a proof of Harvey’s love.

“No, dear, you need _Harvey’s_ help. You’re building a life with him. You should discuss things with _him_ from now on when you have a decision to make.”

“But we’ve always made important decisions together, Grammy.” Mike didn’t want her to feel obsolete.

“Well, I never gave you five rings so I think you’ve let me help you with decisions more than enough.”

“Pfft, Harvey’s just found a good occasion to show off his wealth. Seriously, who proposes with five rings?”

“A man who wants to be absolutely sure that you wouldn’t say no.”

A big, happy smile covered Mike’s face. He had never been this close to happiness.

 

While Mike was wrapping up his conversation with his grandmother, Harvey was in his private glass elevator, tapping his foot restlessly. He had never felt so nervous about going home. He already knew that Mike was going to say yes eventually, but the timing and method could have been wrong.

‘And, he might not like any of those rings.’ Harvey sighed as he noticed that he was almost home. He had never bought a ring for someone else and Mike wasn’t a ring person so he hadn’t been able to get any hints of what he might like. He had even put his ego aside and had thrown in some cheap ones in case Mike had no appreciation for diamonds.

The elevator came to a stop and Harvey realized that it was no use second-guessing his proposal now. He would have to adapt to the changing circumstances if it turned out that things hadn’t gone as he had planned.

“I’m home, sweetheart.” He rarely used any terms of affection other than ‘puppy’, but he could use all the help he could get right now.

“Welcome home!”

Mike was sitting on the couch with his hands behind his back, wearing the biggest grin that he had ever seen on him. Harvey immediately kicked out his insecurity and regained his usual confidence. “How was the hunt?”

“Ta-da!” Mike held out both of his hands and showed off the rings. Both of his index and ring fingers had rings on, and one ring was loosely around his left little finger.

“Do you like any of them?” Harvey took off his coat and gloves before joining his boyfriend on the couch.

“I like all of them! That’s the problem!”

“You can keep them all. Problem solved.” Harvey gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“That’s ridiculous, Harvey. How did you know my size anyway?”

“I know all of your sizes.” Harvey answered smugly. He didn’t want to tell him that he had tied a thread around Mike’s ring finger while he was asleep. It was more romantic this way.

“Which one do _you_ like the most?”

“It’s your choice, Mike. I gave you five so I wouldn’t have to make the decision.” Harvey pulled his associate into his arms and gave him another kiss. It had been freezing outside and Mike was pleasantly warm.

Mike leaned back against Harvey’s chest and looked at his hands. It felt surreal that he was pondering about his engagement ring. “You know, I really appreciate your doing all this for me but I didn’t need any rings. You could’ve just asked me over dinner and I would’ve still said yes, happily.”

“I know that but I’m a traditionalist, Mike. And, I still haven’t asked you properly.” Harvey took off the ring from Mike’s left little finger. The fact that he had put it on a finger that couldn’t really handle the ring meant that it wasn’t one of Mike’s favorites.

“You haven’t asked me properly yet? The treasure hunt wasn’t your way of asking me? Don’t tell me you’ll get down on one knee and beg for my hand?” Mike asked incredulously.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to beg.”

“But you’re getting down on one knee? Oh gosh…” Mike thought that it would be a good time to get reunited with that brown paper bag. He had never needed one before he met Harvey but now he seemed to need it all the time.

“Hey, I need you alive. Don’t die on me now.” Harvey soothingly rubbed Mike’s chest before taking off the rings that were on his index fingers. It looked like Mike wasn’t partial to diamonds after all.

“I think I need a good kiss to help me with the breathing. Can’t… breathe… Aaaek…” Mike pretended that he had trouble getting air into his lungs and turned around to face his boyfriend. He hadn’t kissed Harvey in hours and he thought that it was a legitimate reason to have health issues.

“You’re a terrible actor but you still get a kiss.” Harvey pinched the kid’s cheek.

“Why is that? Because you love me so much you can’t resist my kissable lips?” Mike grinned as he rubbed his cheek.

“You think you have kissable lips?”

“Hell yeah. You don’t?”

Harvey tapped his chin and tilted his head. “Hmm, I can’t seem to remember if you did. I haven’t kissed you in hours and the weather has frozen my memory palace.”

Mike laughed as he caressed Harvey’s face. “It looks like we’re a perfect match, Mr. Specter.”

“That’s why I’m giving you this ring.” Harvey took off the ring from Mike’s right ring finger and left the one on his left ring finger. It was the first ring on the treasure list. Knowing Mike, no other ring could have beaten the emotions that he had felt when he realized that he had just been proposed.

Mike looked down at his left hand and smiled. Harvey had helped him choose the ring. The platinum one had been one of his two favorites. “So where’s this kiss I’m supposed to get? I have warm lips that could help you unlock your memories.” He hooked his arms around Harvey’s neck.

Harvey smirked and wrapped a possessive arm around his waist. “You’re my associate and it’s your job to help me. So let’s see if they’re so warm and kissable.”

As Mike beamed and pulled him into a kiss, Harvey groaned with satisfaction. He found pleasure in many activities but kissing his puppy had become his favorite. He had kissed Mike countless times but it never got old. The more he kissed him, the more he wanted another piece of Mike. Nothing fueled his possessiveness like the kid. ‘How did it come to this? I actually want him around for half a century? Who said I was emotionally unavailable? I should invite all those assholes and get married right in their faces!’

Harvey pulled Mike closer and focused on the kiss. He knew how hot Mike found him when he gave 100% of his attention to the task at hand. Surely enough, Mike’s hands soon sneaked under his shirt and he let out those adorable whimpers from the back of his throat. It was a shame that he had to put an end to it, albeit temporarily.

“What? What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” Mike frowned and tried to kiss him again but Harvey pulled back.

“Because I have a question to ask.” Harvey literally kept Mike at arm’s length.

“God, yes, I’ll marry you. Moving on.” Mike grabbed the front of Harvey’s shirt and tugged it as hard as he could. He was pleased when he got to resume the kiss.

But Harvey broke the kiss again and got up from the couch. He might not enjoy playing by the book but Mike deserved a proper proposal. “Get dressed. We’re going out for an early dinner.”

“Out? Are you kidding me? At this weather? In this state?” Mike pointed at his tented pants as he glared at Harvey.

“Well, I can’t propose to you here.”

“Why not? We have a very nice terrace that probably looks better than most fancy restaurants in the city!”

“But I’m not taking you to just any restaurant, Mike. I’ve made a reservation at a place where you’ll have a great view of the city. All four walls, the ceiling, and the floor are made of glass. We’ll have that part of the restaurant all to ourselves and you’re going to love it. The food, the wine, the music, the atmosphere… everything will be perfect.”

“Oh, Harvey…” Mike kissed his big pineapple on the cheek. Harvey had a rough exterior but he was all sweet on the inside. “That place sounds great but there’s no place I love more than home. Everything’s already perfect here, with you. So how about you ask me here, we take care of my frustration, and then go have dinner there?”

“You’ve learned how to negotiate.” Harvey ruffled Mike’s hair affectionately.

“Well, I’ve been trained by the best lawyer New York has ever seen.”

“Is that so? It sounds like you admire him.”

“Oh, I do. I also lust after him so I wish he’d cut to the chase and get down on his knee already.”

Harvey needed his boyfriend happy so without further ado, he took Mike’s hand in his and led him out to the terrace. When Mike picked a spot in the middle, he carefully took off the ring from Mike’s hand and got down on his left knee.

“Michael James Ross, since I met you in that room full of idiotic clones, I’ve been enjoying my life more than ever. I’ve grown to become more open, more relaxed, and even more competent. I laugh more and I feel more around you. You’ve taken my life to a higher level. In return, I want to keep you safe and happy. I want you to share your joys and sorrows with me. Just like in court, we’re going to beat every obstacle that comes our way. I will be there to protect you and make sure you get the life you deserve. So, I’m asking you, Mike, would you like to share my long and prosperous life?”

Mike chuckled through the happy tears. Harvey was such a huge Trekkie. He took a moment to savor the feeling, looking into the endearing brown eyes. It was one of those precious experiences that only came once in a lifetime. “Yes, Harvey. I’d love to. I’d love to share the rest of your life.”

Harvey put the ring on Mike’s finger and gave his hand a kiss. Mike was right. They were perfect in their own little world. There was no need for fine music or wine. As cliché as it sounded, all they really needed was each other.

“I’ve never slept with someone with a ring on.” Mike examined his left hand as Harvey got back to his feet.

“There’s always a first for everything.” Harvey put Mike’s left hand on his chest and leaned in for a kiss. Perhaps he should have included in his proposal that he was willing to kiss the kid as many times as he wanted him to.

“Wait a second! So you’re my fiancé now??” Mike’s eyes shone with excitement.

“I believe I am.” Harvey pressed his lips against Mike’s forehead and took his fiancé inside. It was getting cold out here.

“I think I’m a little nervous!” Mike announced as they reached the bedroom.

“Relax, puppy. It’s not our wedding night. Just think of it as practice.” Harvey started to undo the buttons on his shirt as Mike took a seat on the bed and tried to relax.

“I think this is my best day ever.” Mike quietly confessed, unable to tear his eyes off his engagement ring. “I thought the best day of my life was the day when I met you; the day when I got a second chance and got my dream job. But I was wrong. Today’s definitely the best day; the day when I got my dream man.”

“Oh, Mike, if you want to make it to the restaurant, you really shouldn’t say things like that.” Harvey climbed onto the bed and gently pushed Mike on his back. There was so much trust and love in Mike’s eyes that he wasn’t sure how to handle them. Perhaps the puppy wasn’t the only one who could use some pre-wedding night practice.

Their lips met in a rather shy manner and Mike noticed that it had started to snow. He loved how the weather made a fine background for their special time together.

“So for the New Year countdown, you want to stay home instead of heading out to Time Square?” Harvey kissed Mike’s neck while he got him out of his shirt.

“Yes. I’d like that. You, me, the TV, and my ring.”

“Fine with me.” Harvey smiled and gave Mike’s lips his full attention. He intended to show his fiancé just how grateful he was for accepting his proposal.

 

“Oh, dear, ahaha…” Donna sat at her desk and giggled for a full minute. She couldn’t help it. She wasn’t excited because a new year had started or because her face was healing nicely. It also wasn’t because of the unusually joyful secretaries’ breakfast meeting. While she had been glad to see Norma happy with the flowers that Louis had sent her and Lana merrily talk about the amazing date that she had had with Lex on New Year’s Eve, this wasn’t about that. She was thrilled because of Ray’s text message that had just come in: _A RING ON M’S LEFT RING FINGER! I REPEAT! THERE IS A RING!!! What’s the code for this? Black?_

‘Glad Harvey didn’t get cold feet! And, I guess it will feel like a bomb to our members so code black sounds about right.’ Donna enjoyed a few more laughs before calling Norma’s extension. This called for a huge celebration and some serious medical attention. It wouldn’t be long before the club members dropped like flies.

 

When Harvey came back from the terribly boring partners’ meeting, he noticed that neither Donna nor Mike were at their desks. They could have been engaged in perfectly normal activities such as taking a bathroom break or refilling their cups of coffee, but his instincts told him otherwise. Something was going on and he wasn’t going to like it.

That was when he heard a woman sobbing nearby. His first reaction was to be relieved that it wasn’t Donna’s voice. Then he turned around and saw that the woman was looking at a business card while sliding down the wall. He took a step towards her to offer his handkerchief when she took one look at him and started to sob harder. Despite having caused her more distress, Harvey was secretly pleased. He had been slightly worried that he might look softer after falling in love, but apparently he had nothing to worry about. It looked like he could still terrorize people just with his appearance.

While Harvey tried to figure out what was going on, the woman turned her face away from the card. It appeared that she couldn’t bear to see it, which puzzled him. Since when did business cards evoke such strong emotions? Did she get the promotion of her life?

“Congratu…lations, Mr. Specter… Oh god, now he’s going to be Mr. Specter too!… Boohoohoo…”

The woman’s words solved the puzzle for him. It must be Mike’s new business card.

‘Then why is she sobbing? She can’t be crying with joy, can she? Is this a normal reaction of a fangirl? Shouldn’t she rather scream in delight and run around like a headless chicken? Or did she already do that and this is the second phase?’ Harvey prided himself on being able to read all types of people but there was an exception: fangirls and fanboys. As far as he was concerned, those species defied logic and were highly unpredictable.

Harvey wanted to go inside his office and carry on with his work but the curiosity got the better of him. So he swaggered down the hallway with his hands in his pockets until he ran into a male associate who looked battered and bruised as if he had come back from the battlefield. He was holding the business card high in the air like a proud trophy while he giggled like a maniac who had thought that he might not get to see the world again five minutes ago. When Harvey cleared his throat, the man instinctively pulled the card close to his chest and looked up warily.

“Which way?” Harvey asked as the associate seemed to recognize him with dazed eyes. The guy pointed to the direction of the library so Harvey headed that way. He was a little worried that Mike might have been harassed for those business cards but if Donna was with him, he was probably all right.

The sight that welcomed him when he opened the door to the library was rather appalling. Those unpredictable species were all over the place, screaming, sobbing, chanting, and scratching the walls. The company nurse and several paramedics were busy assisting the wild animals by taking their blood pressures and putting a stethoscope to their chests. The pretty paralegal was running around with a box of Kleenex for anyone who needed tissues and the mentally challenged associate who used to occupy the cubicle next to his associate was praying on his knees with tears streaming down his face. Everyone looked as if they were in great agony and there was only one person smiling in the entire room; Mike Ross (soon to be ‘Mike Specter’, Harvey noted, which seemed to be the cause of this unprecedented disaster.)

Harvey was relieved to see Mike signing autographs on the back of his new business cards with a happy face. Norma was making sure that people stayed in line, looking like a vicious superintendent of a dormitory, while Donna stood next to Mike and helped him with the cards, her face more serious than ever.

“Hey! Don’t cut in line back there!” Norma’s voice roared like thunder and Harvey wondered how Louis managed to work with that frightening woman every single day.

“May I kiss the ring, please?” One girl asked Mike, eyes shining with hope and madness.

Mike looked at Donna who gave him a shrug, telling him that it was his choice. Mike smiled, making the girl almost collapse with weakened knees, and held out his left hand.

Harvey was reminded of the Pope offering his blessings to the lowly souls until the girl started to shamelessly make out with the ring. ‘Damn it, I should have it cleaned as soon as this is over. Or better, get a new one.’

Thankfully, Norma grabbed the back of the girl’s blouse and lifted her off Mike’s hand. Louis was right. His secretary had the strength of a bear. She must have gone easy on Donna during that cat fight last week.

“Have you seen anything like this before?”

Harvey heard Jessica come and stand right next to him. “I don’t think _anyone_ has seen anything like this before.”

Jessica laughed a little. What a way to start the year. “I heard you had an emotional weekend.”

“Emotional? Me? You need to check your sources, Jessica.”

The managing partner laughed some more. She was in a good mood. “He didn’t give you a hard time? I wish he did.”

“He’s Mike. He’s worth all the hard time.”

“And, to think that you didn’t want an associate in the first place.” Then she put more tenderness into her tone. “I’m happy for you, Harvey. He’s the right puppy for you.”

Jessica gave her boy a kiss on the cheek and Harvey played along with the most childish voice that he could manage. “Not in front of the other kids, mom!”

Apparently it was the wrong move since everyone stopped what they were doing and all eyes landed on him. Then someone yelled in sheer ecstasy, “Oh my god, he’s come to check on his _fiancé_!!”

If people had been dying before, they were definitely dead now. It was like watching hyperventilating dominos go down. They hit the floor one after another and utter chaos took over the library. The paramedics were running around, calling for backup and trying to save those who had a chance to survive.

“Get out of here. Now!” Jessica shooed the senior partner out of the library.

The last thing that Harvey heard before he stepped outside was someone yelling about how he would go down with this ship. He had no idea what that meant but he made a mental note to invite all the paramedics in the library to the wedding.

‘How on earth do celebrities handle those species? I guess the fastest way is to ask.’ He pulled out his phone from his pocket and called Michael Jordan. He knew that famous ex-clients would come in handy someday.

 


	30. The wedding (1)

  
_Previously in ‘The Marvey Chronicles’…_

_Harvey had hidden five possible engagement rings in the condo and had let Mike find them in a treasure hunt. Then he had got down on one knee and had asked Mike if he would like to share his long and prosperous life. Mike had said yes and had held an autograph session the next day to distribute his new business cards that read ‘Mike Specter.’ Already too excited to get Mike’s business card, The Marveyed had suffered a happy panic attack when Harvey had come by to check on his ‘fiancé’._

 

**Step 10: The Specters** (Project 'Eternal love')

_Nine months later…_

“Emma, where are the flowers already? They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.” Norma looked down at her watch with a deep frown.

“Traffic…” The member in charge of the flowers put on her cutest smile so that the wedding planner wouldn’t stab her with the cake knife and throw her into the woods, leaving her to be consumed by wild animals.

“Traffic? Why would there be any traffic this early in such a perfect weather? What’s their ETA?”

“They’re still seven minutes out.”

“Seven minutes??” Norma’s roar shook the ground.

“I’ll call them again and make it five…” Emma took a step back and put some distance between the bearlike woman and herself.

“Make it four. And, report to me as soon as you have them in sight.” Norma clicked her tongue and moved onto the next order of business. She was currently running point at Harvey’s summer condo in East Hampton which was going to be used as the venue for the wedding. The ceremony was to be held in the beautiful front yard, followed by the reception inside the condo.

Harvey had given her and Donna a generous budget to work with, and she had learned how to communicate with the redhead in a non-violent way. It hadn’t been easy but she had done it and was so damn proud of herself. Now if only other people could learn how to read time and make her proud of them…

Meanwhile, the redheaded co-wedding planner was checking on the food. She was grateful that Harvey and Mike had decided to get married in September since there were fewer worries about the food going bad. They had prepared a lovely buffet which would suit all palates, even Louis’ who had threatened to miss the wedding if he didn’t like the food list. Mike hadn’t minded Louis not being present, but Harvey had insisted that the best way to put him back in his place was to make him witness one of his happiest moments.

_Beep._

“Donna, you need to come here! I think Mike’s losing it!” Rachel’s frantic voice came through the earpiece.

“He’s getting cold feet? That’s perfectly normal. Just tell him everything’s going to be okay and make sure he doesn’t run.”

“Oh, it’s cold feet alright, but it’s not exactly because he’s getting married…”

“What do you mean?” Donna’s eyebrows shot up to the sky.

“He took one look at the guest list and started hyperventilating!”

“You let him look at the guest list? What were you thinking?”

“I thought it would be better for him to hyperventilate now than in front of everyone later! Are you coming or not? Mike! Stop shaking your leg and breathe!”

“I’m on my way.” Donna hurried inside as quickly as her tight dress and high heels would allow her.

The moment she opened the door to the room, her eyes caught the pretty groom sitting on a chair, breathing into a brown paper bag. His face was pale and his eyes were wide with panic. Forcing the lower part of her dress to stretch as much as possible, she rushed to Mike’s side, put a soothing hand on the back of his neck, and started to knead the tense muscles. “Sweetheart, there’s nothing to worry about. They’re just people. You have to remember that.”

Mike put down the paper bag and looked up with shaky eyes. “Uh, Donna, I don’t know which planet you’re from, but Michael Jordan, George Clooney, and Madonna are definitely not people. They never were! They’re gods! At least demi-gods! They were born on an unknown planet and have come to grace the Earth! How generous of them… I wonder if their lawyers agreed with their decisions though. Our world can be very dangerous sometimes.”

“Mike, _Harvey_ is their lawyer. That’s why they’re here. Besides, you’re already marrying a god. Why would you be freaking out to see some of his fellow gods? They’re not here to punish you with thunder and lightning. They’re here to bless you.”

“You’re right. I’m marrying a god! Oh, god… I mean actual god, not Harvey! Not that Harvey isn’t a god! But oh god… I’m going to pass out.”

“No, you’re not.” Donna said firmly as she took off her necklace before putting her hand back on Mike’s neck.

“I’m not…? But I really feel like I’m going to.”

“You’re not going to pass out, my dear. What you’re going to do is look at this pendant and concentrate. Nothing’s wrong in the world and you feel at peace. You are happy and relaxed. You are going to enjoy the beautiful wedding that we’ve prepared for you, and you will marry the love of your life who’s absolutely crazy about you.” Donna paused to see if she had to continue, but Mike seemed to have calmed down instantly.

“Did you just hypnotize him?” Rachel asked incredulously. “Isn’t that a little… wrong?”

Donna smiled while tracing the lines of Rachel’s face with her sharp fingernails. “I love you, Rachel, but if you even breathe about this to Harvey, I’m going to feed your beautiful face to the wolves.”

Rachel knew that Donna didn’t really mean it, but just in case she did, she put on a bright face and pinched Mike’s cheek. “Oh, look at you, Mikey. So calm and composed. You look ready to get married!”

Donna snorted at the terrible acting. Sadly, some people weren’t born with talent like hers.

“Don’t worry. He’ll snap out of it in a few minutes.” She whispered while keeping an eye on Mike who was fixing the cufflinks on his tuxedo. “And, he won’t suffer any memory loss, so he’s going to remember all of this just fine. I’m just trying to give his brain a little time to rest.”

“Oh, that’s great then.” Rachel let out a sigh of relief. As his best friend and best woman, she didn’t want Mike to have pieces of memory missing on one of the most wonderful days of his life.

“I’m offended you even thought I’d do something awful to him.” Donna crossed her arms but kept a smile on her face which only grew wider when Rachel mirrored the smile.

“Donna, can I go see Harvey?” Mike’s question got the women’s attention. “I know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, but does that apply to us too? We’re both grooms.”

“Aww, sweetie, you can go see him any time you want. He’d be happy to see you. There’s no such thing as bad luck when there’s no bridezilla involved.” Donna gave him a fond smile and instructed into the earpiece. “Stand on guard. The black swan is leaving the nest.”

“Whoa, I get to be Natalie Portman? Cool!” Mike chuckled as he got up from the chair. He felt much more light-hearted than a few minutes ago. “But why black swan? I thought I’d be the puppy or the eagle. In movies, it’s always the eagle.”

Donna laughed while Rachel opened the door and checked if the hallway was clear. “Because black swans are known to be happily monogamous. And, one-quarter of the pairings are homosexual.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. What’s Harvey then?”

“He’s the black vulture. He’s never going to cheat on you and he’s always going to look out for you. We thought about going with big penguin and small penguin…” Donna gestured at Mike’s tuxedo. “But we thought you two strutted better than a pair of penguins.”

Mike giggled before strutting towards the door. His security detail was consisted of two male and two female members of The Marveyed who were acting like overzealous bodyguards. Mike wondered why they were looking around so dramatically when there was nobody else in the hallway. Perhaps they couldn’t see well through their pitch-black sunglasses. “Uh, what’s the potential threat here?”

“Sorry, Mike. We are under strict orders not to discuss any troubling factors with you.” Gregory did his best to sound like Kevin Costner.

“But don’t worry. We’ve got every possible angle covered.” Harold reassured him with his Harvey wig on. The senior partner had told him that he wasn’t allowed to wear it in the office, but since he wasn’t in the office, he was perfectly within his rights to sport his wonderful hairdo.

“Great then. How do I look though? Rachel helped me with the bow tie but I’m not sure if it meets Harvey’s criteria.”

“Lovely!”, “Stunning!”, “Dashing!”, “Delicious!” were the answers that he got, so Mike knocked on Harvey’s door with great confidence.

“Hey, look who’s come to see you, cub.” Harvey’s mother, Sue, opened the door. “The only male creature in the Galaxy that’s willing to sleep with your ego, that’s almost the size of the Galaxy. What a gigantic size queen.” She quickly fixed Mike’s bow tie before giving him a wink and sending him in.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Harvey greeted Mike with a word that rolled off his tongue as soon as his mother and brother left the room. Apparently, nine months had been long enough for him to get comfortable using a term of endearment.

“Hey.” Mike beamed as he fit into Harvey’s arms. Whatever anxieties that he had felt before were promptly washed away by Harvey’s caresses, and he hoped that he could do the same for his man.

“How are you feeling? Don’t tell me you’ve come to give me the heads up that you’re running away with one of the guests.” Harvey pulled back a little to see his fiancé’s beautiful eyes.

“Well, you see, I met this incredibly handsome werewolf in the back yard just a few minutes ago…” Mike said with a straight face.

“Is that so?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Is that werewolf capable of taking you to Paris and Oslo for two full weeks? In a private jet? Staying in five-star hotels with beds that would never break?”

“No.” Mike laughed as his heart skipped a beat at the mention of their honeymoon.

“Then is he capable of kissing you like this?” Harvey pulled Mike closer and covered his lips with his own.

Mike tried his best not to wrinkle Harvey’s tuxedo as he kissed back with love. It never ceased to amaze him how perfect Harvey was for him in more ways than he could possibly explain.

“So?” Harvey ended the kiss before he would want to forget about the wedding and rip the tuxedo off his man.

“Huh? So what?” Mike had completely forgotten the question and Harvey was pleased.

“So you’re staying with me.” He gave Mike a kiss on the nose as a reward.

“Ah, Harvey, can you believe we’re really doing this? This is amazing! _You_ are amazing!” Mike looked at his man with adoring eyes.

Harvey shook his head with a dazzling smile. “No, Mike. _We_ are amazing.”

Mike’s smile almost blinded the great lawyer who got a very tight hug as his own reward. He had apparently said the right thing, as always.

_Knock-knock._

“Sorry to bother you lovebirds, but Mike’s grandmother is here.” Donna barely managed to step aside before Mike flew past her out of the room. Then she snorted at her boss who had walked up to the full-length mirror to fix his appearance. He had a pouty look on his face.

“Harvey, you can’t possibly be jealous of his grandmother.” She couldn’t keep the laughter out of her voice.

“You’re getting the wrong idea, Donna.” Harvey focused on making sure that he looked as marriageable as before the kiss.

“Am I really?” Donna decided to cut him some slack by not waiting for an answer and produced an envelope out of her purse.

“Don’t tell me you already wrote yourself a big, fat bonus check.” Harvey eyed the envelope through the mirror before turning around and taking it from her fingers.

“Should I feel insulted that you think I’m that predictable?”

Harvey chose to find the answer himself as he checked the contents of the envelope. There was a key and a note with an address scribbled on it.

“This address looks familiar.” He tilted his head to think about the reason.

“That’s because Vanessa found out I hid Benjamin, the IT guy, in that safe house. Well, since she managed to find it, maybe it’s not as safe as it sounds, but she’s one of the best P.Is out there.” Donna explained with a nonchalant shrug.

“And, you’re giving me a key to this not very safe house, why?”

“Because you now have a family to protect.” Donna smiled brightly. “It’s yours now. Consider it a wedding gift.”

“Should I feel insulted that you think I have more enemies than you? Who doesn’t like me?” Harvey grinned.

“Harvey, I got that safe house years ago and we’ve been very fortunate that we didn’t need it so far. But great people can always get pulled into nasty business, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a place to stay low for a while.”

“Donna, calling me great isn’t going to increase the sum of your bonus. I already know I’m great and I’ve apparently paid you enough to get a house.”

“I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about Mike.” Donna’s eyes glistened with mischievous joy. “What? He’s going to be a senior associate by the end of the year! With his own office and assistant! There’s already intense competition going on among the temps to work for him, and I think Cameron will come out on top. He’s adorable and uses a color-coded filing system, you know.”

Harvey was reluctant to picture Mike working with an adorable guy all day, but as long as he could keep Donna to himself, he would have to live with it. Donna was the one thing that he wouldn’t give anyone, even to Mike.

“Well, I’d love to stay and paint you vivid pictures of Mike’s future in his professional life, but I have to go and check on about fifty things for his personal life.” Donna put a warm hand on her friend’s arm and headed towards the door.

“Donna?”

“Yes?” She turned around.

“Thanks. And, just so you know, you’re my family too.”

Donna gave him a pleased nod before leaving the groom alone. Now that Mike’s grandmother had arrived, they could get started soon.

 

“Harvey, I’m nervous. Again.” Mike confessed as he kept shifting his weight from one leg to the other. He was standing on the porch of the condo, waiting for the band to play Wagner’s ‘Wedding March’ so that he and Harvey could walk down the aisle. Since there was no bride in this wedding, they had decided to enter with each other’s company.

“It’s okay. I’m nervous too.”

Mike’s eyes shot up to Harvey’s face. He hadn’t expected him to admit it so casually.

Harvey took Mike’s hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Listen to me. We wouldn’t be able to screw things up even if we wanted to. I bet those two women have seven contingency plans for everything we could possibly screw up.”

“That is true.” Mike couldn’t help but agree. If there were any superheroes in the world of wedding planning, he had no doubt that they would look exactly like Norma and Donna. He had thought that nine months would be more than enough to plan a wedding (even babies were made and born in nine months!), but from what he could tell, the wedding planning committee had been running on a tight schedule.

“Do you have the vow?”

Harvey’s voice brought Mike out of his thinking bubble. He let go of Harvey’s hands and checked his inside breast pocket. “Yes.”

“And, you still love me?”

Mike laughed. “Yes!”

“Good. Then we’re good to go. Just follow my lead and we’ll be fine.”

“I can do that.”

“I know you can.” Harvey pressed his lips against Mike’s forehead and smiled when the music started in time. He held out his right arm and when Mike took it, they proceeded to give the world their very best struts.

“Oh, Donna, he’s all grown up… I didn’t think I’d see this day! I can think of so many perfect songs for this moment. Harvey would’ve loved to hear them!” Ray held onto Donna’s arm with one hand and onto a tissue with the other. He had hoped that his kind boss would find someone for himself, for such a long time. There had been moments when he thought that it wasn’t going to happen, but here he was today, sitting in the front row of his wedding. Ray considered himself a man of steel, but he couldn’t think of a better occasion to shed some tears of joy.

Margaret was dabbing her eyes with a Kleenex as well, overwhelmed by the sight of the couple walking down the aisle. The whole fan club except for Jessica, Donna and Ray were seated at Mike’s side while Harvey’s clients and admirers had nicely filled his.

“Uh, I hate to tell you, dear, but you have panda eyes.” Claire pointed a judging finger at her colleague’s eyes while batting her neat ones. There was a reason why she invested in top-quality tsunamiproof eyeliners. Marvey tended to give her so many feelings that it was impossible to live without strong cosmetic support.

Margaret let out a gasp of shock when she spotted a black smudge on her Kleenex. This was infuriating. “Oh my god, they said it was triple waterproof! They lied to me! I am going to sue their sorry asses!”

While the other guests greeted the happy couple with warm applause, Harvey and Mike made it to the front of the aisle. Harvey noticed that there were three seats in the front row that were occupied by picture frames; one of his late father and two of Mike’s late parents. He felt Mike flinch and grab his arm harder. How he wished that he could come up with the right words to make him feel better… Thankfully, they had been having success in non-verbal communication, so he put his left hand on top of Mike’s and caressed it as soothingly as he could.

“She’s all I’ve got.”

Harvey understood that Mike was talking about his grandmother who was looking at them with a bittersweet smile.

“I disagree, puppy. You have me too. We’re doing this so I can _legally_ be part of your family.” Harvey was aware that there was a huge microphone in front of them, but he didn’t mind everyone else hearing him as long as Mike felt less lonely.

“You’re right. This is all legal! Under the Marriage Equality Act!” Then Mike started to gabble about how the law had come to see the light of day as he stood in a world where only he and Harvey existed.

Harvey chuckled as he listened to Mike’s passionate explanation. He was glad that he was marrying a lawyer. Otherwise, his emphasis on legality wouldn’t have had such a strong effect.

When Mike was done pouring out information, the judge who had been asked to officiate the wedding cleared his throat. “Can we please have a round of applause for the younger groom? He has kindly reminded us about how we were able to gather here today.”

Harvey watched with amusement as color rose to Mike’s cheeks. Even when Mike got over the embarrassment and waited for the judge to speak, he couldn’t stop looking at him. The man was lovable in more ways than he could explain, and he couldn’t wrap his brain around the idea that Mike chose to be with him for the rest of his life.

After the judge cleared his throat twice to get Harvey’s attention, he proceeded to deliver his words of blessing. “We are all gathered here on this beautiful day…”

Deb was one of The Marveyed who was sitting in the last row because she had got the lowest score on the mental strength test. She had gone through a vigorous training program, but it wasn’t her fault that her heartbeat wouldn’t drop to a safe level whenever Norma showed her a picture of Marvey smiling at each other. Much to her delight, her seat still gave her a fantastic view of the ceremony since she had her binoculars.

Next to her sat Elizabeth who couldn’t stop hiccupping to save her life. It was a newfound habit that she had picked up when she had acquired Mike’s new business card. She had been hiccupping then, and she had hiccupped through all the Marvey moments ever since. Today was no exception and she was doing her best to muffle the sounds into her Mike handkerchief.

The judge, who was going out of his way to keep Harvey interested by throwing in relevant legal clauses, was the judge who had met the two lawyers in one of their earliest cases. To prove a point, Harvey had used an example in which he might be sexually harassing his court security guard, Herman. Surprisingly, while speaking to Herman in his chambers, he had found out that the guard actually wanted to be sexually harassed by him. Since then, the two of them had been going out, and he found himself often thanking the man who had brought them together.

“Since the older groom can’t give a rat’s ass about what I have to say, let me stop here and let them exchange their vows.” The judge’s words caused a ripple of laughter among the guests while Harvey put up an innocent face under Mike’s soft glare.

“You want me to go first?” Harvey asked and saw Mike nod his pretty head. The vow was one of the few things that he had to get involved in. His vow had gotten rejected as many as three times before Norma gave him her seal of approval.

Harvey looked into Mike’s expectant eyes and started to read his vow. “Mike, I’ve stood next to you in front of a judge many times before, but never have I thought I’d be standing in the same spot with a completely different agenda in mind. I’m not here today to convince the jury or the judge. I’m here to convince _you_ to swear under oath that you will keep treating me just like you always have. I want you to show me the same amount of loyalty, trust, and affection as before. I want you to tell me when something’s wrong and challenge me when you think I’m doing the wrong thing. I want you to be by my side both in joy and sorrow. I am so proud of all that is you, Mike, and I celebrate you each and every moment. When life points a gun to our heads, I promise to go through all of the 146 ways to save our marriage. I love you, Mike. And, I’m honored to be standing in this very spot to build a winning future with you.”

It took Rachel 0.16 seconds to hand Mike a particularly soft tissue for his delicate eyes and an additional 0.24 seconds to give him a bottle of imported water to help him clear his throat. Intensive training was clearly paying off.

Mike thanked his best woman with a smile and collected himself. Such lovely words had landed on his heart, making him feel more nervous than when he had first cheated on LSAT or when he had walked into the Chilton Hotel to make his debut as a drug dealer.

Encouraged by Harvey’s nod, Rachel’s fist pump, and Norma’s glare, he took a deep breath and read his vow. “Harvey, when you hired me as your associate, a part of me was hoping that ‘associate’ would be a code for ‘secret boyfriend’. It was just a silly idea but look how far we’ve come. I think we can thank many people for that.”

Chuckling at the squeals and wolf whistles, he carried on with more confidence. “Many people go to work with a long face, but nothing has been more exciting for me than to wake up every morning and go work for you. You have taught me so much and have looked out for me as a mentor, friend, and a partner. You’ve helped me make better decisions in life, and here I am, making the best decision I’ve ever made. Harvey, there’s no one in this world that I trust more than you, and I can’t wait to go on even more exciting adventures with you. I vow to treat you with the utmost love and respect. I vow to never take your attention for granted, and I vow to keep our marriage intact against all odds. You’re everything to me, Harvey, and I’m going to cherish this feeling for the rest of my life.”

After the wails of joy and jealousy had reached a tolerable level, the judge spoke again. “Those were meaningful vows, gentlemen. Now, with those vows in mind, you may exchange the rings.”

Harvey’s younger brother and Rachel handed the rings over to Harvey and Mike respectively. Harvey took Mike’s ring and smiled at the words that were engraved inside; _semper eadem_. He had let Mike choose the words and his partner, who knew how to be content with the things that he had, wished for things to remain the same.

“Excellent choice, puppy.” He kissed Mike’s hand and placed the ring on his left ring finger.

“I’m glad you like it.” Mike gave the love of his life a huge grin before settling the slightly bigger ring on Harvey’s finger. The platinum rings were custom-made with two navy blue lines at the base. The lower, thicker line represented Harvey while the higher, thinner line stood for himself. The lines ran a close parallel all around the ring, and Mike liked to think that it was a show of their matching steps.

Harvey took both of Mike’s hands as the judge went through his final duties. “Harvey Reginald Specter, do you take this breathtaking, young man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” He spoke with conviction.

“Michael James Ross, do you take this grumpy, old man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Harvey glared at the judge half in fun but soon found himself satisfied again as the solemn vow left his groom’s lips. “I do.”

“Very well then. By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss the happy groom!”

As the guests’ blessing came in forms of rapturous applause and gross sobbing, Harvey wrapped an arm around Mike’s waist and cupped a hand around his face. Enchanted by Mike’s dazzling smile, he pulled his husband into a kiss that finalized the legal procedure of the wedding. They were officially married now and it felt awesome.

With Mendelssohn’s ‘Wedding March’ playing in the background, the newlyweds made their way back to the condo, taking their time to thank the guests who were sitting the closest to the aisle. Mike shook hands with various members of the fan club, realizing that he had more of a family than Harvey and his grandmother. He had all these people who loved him for who he was and who wouldn’t hesitate to help him out if he were in trouble.

Irene was one of the lucky ones who got the honor to shake Mike’s hand. She had aced all of her handshaking tests and had mastered the art of acting sanely in the close presence of a gorgeous man. Luckily, she only needed to keep up the act for a few seconds.

“Thanks for coming.” Mike held out his hand with a smile.

“You’re welcome! And, congratulations!” Trying to remember Donna’s acting lessons, she carefully held Mike’s hand and shook it. Her instincts were screaming to forget about lessons or how scary Harvey could be and jump the guy, but she fought them tooth and nail. She was too young to die and it wasn’t like she would be able to rest in peace when there was so much Marveyness on Earth.

Waiting for her turn, Logan saw her life flash before her eyes. This past year had definitely been one of the best years of her life, if not the best. The Marveyed wasn’t just a fan club to her; it was another family. Thanks to her fellow members, she couldn’t remember the last time that she had felt particularly lonely. She had plenty of friends to hang out with and got daily confirmation that true love still existed in the form of Marvey. Perhaps, someday, she could find someone to share such love with.

“Thank you so much for everything.” Mike was grateful for all the help that he had got for the wedding.

“No problem!” She gave him her least creepy smile that she had practiced in front of the mirror for months and shook his adorable hand. She wanted to hang onto the hand for as long as she could but she didn’t want to die a gruesome death. Norma had made it very clear what would happen if anyone dared to trouble one of the boys. So she let go of Mike’s hand and wished him all the happiness in the world. He deserved it and she couldn’t be happier to see him shine so brightly on a beautiful day like this.

 

Once they reached the master bedroom upstairs to get some rest, Mike flopped down onto the bed and closed his eyes. Now he understood why newlyweds needed to go on a honeymoon. He couldn’t begin to think about going back to work after such an emotional day.

“Get up, Mike.” Harvey locked the door and took off his shoes.

Mike didn’t bother to open his eyes. “Harvey, Donna gave us thirty minutes before barging in with the hair and makeup crew. We still have twenty-nine minutes.”

“My point exactly. Get up and lose the tux.”

“Just ten minutes, hubby. I’ll get changed in ten minutes.” Mike pressed his face into one of the pillows and made a happy sound.

“What did you just say to me?” Harvey came closer to the bed as he got rid of his jacket and bow tie.

“That I’ll be up in ten. Please, Harvey, I really need a power nap.”

“No, before that. You called me your _husband_.” Harvey started to get out of his shirt as fast as he could.

“I did? Are you proud I’m adapting so quickly?” With his eyes still closed, Mike reached out with grabby hands, hoping to catch a piece of Harvey.

“I am. And, I expect you to show the same pace of adaptation when I finally rip that tux off your body.”

Before Mike could open his mouth and ask if he was allowed to keep his eyes closed, Harvey was on top of him, kissing him and stripping him in a scarily efficient manner.

“Oh wow, this whole marriage thing must really turn you on. I thought it was usually the opposite.” Mike mumbled as he opened his eyes and tried to get rid of his husband’s pants.

“You’re officially mine now. What could turn me on more than that?” Harvey threw Mike’s boxers over his shoulder and kissed him again. Mike’s nap would have to wait since he had already waited long enough to get his hands on his skin.

“Okay, first married sex. I can get behind that. Right behind it and all up in front of it.” Mike dropped the idea of napping and wrapped his arms around Harvey’s shoulders. The warm lips felt too good on his neck and he could always find time to sleep once they were on their way to paradise.

 

**To be continued…**   



	31. The wedding (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter rating:** M (soft, warm, talkative porn?)  
> 

  
Jenna couldn’t keep the huge smile off her face as she styled Harvey’s hair back to perfection. When she had followed Donna into the master bedroom a few minutes ago, the husbands had been reattaching each other’s boutonniere. Their hair had been wet, indicating that they had both taken a shower, and since there seemed to be slightly resolved sexual tension between the two, she had assumed that they had taken it together.

“Heheheh, all wet under the steamy water…” The sound of a pleased fangirl had already left her mouth before she could swallow it. She felt Harvey’s questioning glance through the mirror but kept her eyes on his hair, pretending to have thought about anything but the boys’ wet bodies gliding against each other’s.

She wasn’t the only one who was struggling to keep up her façade. Echo was having similar thoughts and reactions as she handled Mike’s glowing face. She didn’t think that he needed any makeup when the best look was the so-called ‘well-fucked look’ that Mike was currently sporting. He looked satisfied and giddy with pleasure so she had decided to apply some cream, give him a quick facial massage so that he could keep smiling without pulling any muscles, and be done with it.

Donna was keeping a sharp eye on her crew while checking for any possible flaws in the couple’s appearance. Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, she scrutinized her boss from head to toe. Given his love for formal wear, it would have been cruel to let him wear only one tuxedo on his wedding day, so she had arranged for the lovebirds to change from black ones to white ones before the reception.

‘Oh, the boutonniere! It should be half an inch to the left!’ Donna pushed herself off the wall before she remembered that it was Mike who had pinned it that way. ‘Never mind, it looks great.’

She leaned against the wall again and smiled at the matching red boutonnieres. As a traditionalist, Harvey had chosen a red rose that signified true love whereas Mike had chosen a red tulip that stood for undying love. Norma, a huge fan of tulips, had undoubtedly influenced him but neither she nor Harvey had had any objections.

“I think that’s enough, ladies. It’s time to go cut the cake.” Donna checked her watch and ushered everyone out of the room, making sure that the security team watched out for disgruntled opposing counsels and Mike’s questionable ex-friends.

 

There were much fewer people in the dining area as most of the busy guests had left after the wedding ceremony. While the newlyweds were shaking hands with the guests who were close enough to them to stick around, The Marveyed were enjoying lunch with bibs around their necks. The wedding invitation had explicitly asked them to ‘BYOB’, and the second B had stood for ‘bib’ instead of ‘bottle’.

“Ehehe, this is perfect.” Harold giggled as he looked down at his Harvey bib once more. He had wanted a Harvey bib for quite a while but the fan club only made merchandises that had over ten requests. Sadly, nobody else had been interested in a bib until Marvey had given out their wedding invitations. That was the grand moment when his dreams had come true. Now he was a proud owner of a bib that had Harvey’s judging face on it.

The other guests might have thought that the bib was meant to protect the members’ garments from food but it was obviously from excessive saliva. Despite taking acting classes from Donna, there was only so much that amateurs could do. With the spotlight safely focused on Marvey, the fan club could now afford to drool freely in the comfort of the shadows.

Rachel gasped at the magnificent sight of the wedding cake that had just made an entrance. It had seven tiers and each tier represented a quality that Marvey had deemed necessary for a solid marriage; love, faith, passion, understanding, loyalty, patience, and forgiveness. As a foodie, she had been heavily involved in helping the couple choose the cake. In the end, they had decided on an Italian cream cake with toasted almond Grand Marnier and chocolate ganache fillings with white rolled fondant and cascading sugar roses. The heart of the cake wasn’t the sugar roses though. It was the sugar monogram with crystals, in the front, that read ‘H&M’.

On top of the cake, there were two miniature lawyers doing a fist bump. Mike had dressed tiny Harvey in the suit that he had worn when they had first met while Harvey had picked the suit from when the boy had first landed in his bed. Mike had initially wanted to reenact the scene where the weed had popped out of his briefcase, but Harvey had talked him out of it with a mind-blowing rim job.

As the cake was cut and the best man and woman delivered their speeches, Sue put her physiognomic skills to good use. Nudging Mike’s grandmother, she offered her in-law her reading of the boys’ faces. “You know, a few years back, I used to let a brilliant Chinese scholar worship me from waist to toe. When his mouth unfortunately needed a break, he taught me how to read a person’s fortune on his face and how to see if two people were compatible with each other. See, my cub has two bulging moles above his left eyebrow and your Bubble has a small mole above his right one. That’s a sure sign that they’ll enjoy a long marriage full of disgusting amounts of animalistic copulation and sickeningly dainty offspring.”

“Offspring? You think I’ll get great-grandchildren?” Edith perked up after wiping a tear with her Mike handkerchief. It had been a difficult day without her son and daughter-in-law.

“I _know_ you’ll get whiny great-grandbabies. I can see it on their faces.” Then she put her fingers on her left temple and narrowed her eyes at the couple.

Edith didn’t think that was how physiognomy worked, but she didn’t really care as long as she got to have great-grandchildren.

“I see two.” Sue spoke in a grave voice. She hoped that they wouldn’t ask her to babysit.

“Two?” It was music to the grandmother’s ears.

“One boy and one girl. Nah, that can’t be right. They’re boys. Both of them.”

“Do you think they’re twins?” Edith asked worriedly as she made a mental note to buy enough material for knitting on her way back to the nursing home.

“I don’t think so. Maybe a couple of years apart.” Sue put her hand down with great trouble. She had used too much energy and was in immediate need of the wedding cake that had started to be served.

“Here you go, mother.” Her dependable son showed up with a piece of cake just in time to save her life.

“Thanks, cub. I’m thrilled that you now have someone else on the emergency contact list. Nothing’s going to disturb my beauty sleep and I shall remain forever young.” She exchanged kisses with him before sending him over to his second mother.

“Jessica.” With Donna’s help, Harvey served the managing partner a piece of loyalty. She had been the one who had picked him up from the mailroom and had looked out for him all these years. The role model for a mentor that he was using for Mike was, without a doubt, Jessica Pearson, and he particularly admired her strength and passion for the job. Everything that she had overcome as a black woman to reach her position had always been a source of inspiration to him.

“I don’t get a kiss?” Jessica smirked as she picked up her fork.

“Not in front of the other kids, mom.” Harvey grinned playfully but leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“I only approved to keep my firm cohesive.”

“No, you didn’t. You totally care about me.”

“Now you sound like your own puppy.”

“And, that’s a bad thing?”

Jessica’s face lit up at the unexpected reaction. She had wanted Harvey to be like her except for one thing; she had wanted him to learn the ability to reach out and bond with another human being on the deepest level. “Do you remember how you told me that happiness only existed in children’s books? You even accused me of not having learned anything from my failed marriage. But I told you I’d prove you wrong and it looks like I _won_.” She added a smug grin just to make it burn.

“Well, I don’t know about that. I think I won against just about everyone today. And, I even got a prize.” Harvey looked over at his husband who was chatting amicably with Michael Jordan. He was using his hands in great measure, making the ring on his left hand shine under the spotlight. Harvey felt his heart swell with satisfaction and gratitude. Mike had been wearing an engagement ring ever since he had proposed to him, but seeing the wedding ring on his finger felt even better.

Then he saw Norma getting Mike’s attention. Unlike himself, Mike wasn’t crept out by the scary woman. He even seemed to like her, which had completely disgusted Louis. Harvey looked around to see where his coworker was. He spotted him in a dark corner, checking his heart rate monitor while eating his piece of cake. There was a young boy sitting next to him, poking the monitor with a fork. It seemed like his plus one was his oldest nephew. He waited until Louis felt his stare and gave him his very best smile. When the miserable lawyer flinched and looked away, he turned his attention back to Mike. It was time to cleanse his eyes.

“This is going to be good. Watch and laugh.” Donna stood next to him with an evil grin that he was so familiar with. Wearing a matching grin, he put his hands in his pockets and looked at the stage.

Mike carefully unpinned the tulip from his tuxedo and turned around. It was time to throw his boutonniere and give his blessings to the next couple in order. There were a few candidates that were ready for the catch; a pregnant client, Harvey’s housekeeper Gloria, the judge’s fiancé Herman, and a couple of members of the fan club.

“Everyone’s ready?” He asked as he looked over his shoulder.

“Throw it!!” The pregnant lady urged him with open arms.

“Okay. Here we go!” Mike threw the tulip over his head, trying to aim for the woman who was heavy with child.

He turned his face just in time to see Herman throw his equally heavy body into the air while Gloria threw a fork at the small flower like a spear. The club members were flailing their arms to get past Herman when the tulip bounced off the pregnant woman’s belly.

“Mwahaha! Victory!” She held up the boutonniere like a warrior who was showing off the enemy’s head.

“Noooo! I needed that!!…” Herman sank to his knees and raised his arms in despair. The spotlight made him look like a tragic character in a play. “What is marriage without blessing? Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this?”

Mike felt bad as the big guy yowled like a wounded hippopotamus. He was wondering if there was any way to make him feel better when he heard his mentor’s voice.

“Mike!” Harvey wound up and kicked his leg in the air before throwing his own boutonniere. Mike caught it with ease and gave him a blinding smile.

“Oh my god! It’s like a baseball AU! My life is complete!! This ship sails itself!” Rebecca clapped her hands in excitement. Norma was yelling breathing techniques to reduce the number of casualties, but she couldn’t hear anything over the sound of her OTP being perfect.

At this surprising turn of events, Herman got back on his feet with a hopeful look. When Mike nodded his head with a bright face, the security guard got into a stable receiving position. He preferred roses to tulips anyway. With everyone cheering on, Mike threw the boutonniere one more time and Herman flew for one last time.

“Yes!! I got it! We’re getting married, Your Honor!” Herman flashed his indulgent smile and Mike blew a kiss to Harvey to thank him for closing the situation like the best closer in the city that he was.

Louis felt critically ill. The atmosphere was worse than he had expected. He felt like Grinch around all these people who had gone mental with happiness. He couldn’t stand people being so cheerful when life was a battlefield that had to be dealt with aggressiveness. ‘Such stupid people. They don’t know what’s good for them!’

The whole thing was ridiculous. He thought about the day when he had first heard about Harvey’s proposal. He knew that rumors often got exaggerated, but what he had heard had been absolutely ridiculous. People had told him that Harvey had bought Mike fifty engagement rings and had recited the whole Star Trek to get a positive answer from the genius. Then he had heard that Harvey had taken Mike to a restaurant where they could see the whole American continent. ‘That doesn’t even make any sense! It’s not physically possible!’

Louis gritted his teeth as he directed his anger to the plate in front of him. He even hated the cake; its rich flavor suited his palate perfectly, making him sicker and sicker. He hadn’t wanted to come to this sugary form of Hell, but the deadly combination of Donna and Norma had almost made him wet his expensive new pants. ‘Stupid women. Who needs them anyway?’

He looked at his nephew who had cake all over his mouth. His sister had been generous enough to let him bring him along. His date had canceled at the last minute, saying that she couldn’t be seen in public because she had a huge pimple that had emerged overnight. That was just his luck. He thought that he had bought her enough cosmetics to cover the whole American continent but apparently he was wrong.

His mood got worse when Madonna took the stage. His ears were bleeding but everyone seemed to be having a good time. Then the worst thing happened. One of his favorite opera singers sang a beautiful aria that left him in tears. He had been aware that she was one of Harvey’s former clients but he hadn’t expected her to have so much free time.

‘Why… Why did she have to waste her talent for my rival’s happiness? Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this?’ He threw his arms in the air like Herman but there was no spotlight to shine down on him.

“Uncle Louis, when are we going home? I’ve finished the cake.”

He was about to answer ‘Right now’ when he noticed that one of the female guests from the adjacent table was watching them with a small smile on her face.

‘Is she an actress? Did Harvey plant her to make my life even more miserable?’ Louis carefully studied the middle-aged woman’s face and watched her get up.

“Wasn’t that aria beautiful? I was very moved too.” The woman took the empty seat next to his.

When Louis didn’t answer and kept up his guard, she changed the subject. “Is this your son? It’s so nice to see a father and son getting along together. My late father and brother never really did.”

The boy was about to answer that Louis was his uncle, but Louis shoved a forkful of his own cake in his mouth. “Yes, he’s my boy. We look just the same, don’t we?”

“Oh, Louis, it’s good to see your nephew again.” Jessica remembered the boy from the few times that he had been at the Pearson-Hardman daycare center. She had decided to give every single one of her employees a personal thank you for coming to the wedding.

“Jessica!!” Louis groaned in frustration but the woman had already left. In fact, both women had left and he was all alone again.

‘That’s it! Enough with all of this! I’m getting five cats and one of those e-mail brides!!’ Louis made up his mind and dove into the rest of his cake. He had no dignity left to resist the delicious taste.

 

After the guests finished their share of cake while watching the Marvey montage on the big screen, the party moved outside so that there was enough room to dance. The first dance went to the married couple who had requested Carpenters’ ‘Top of the World’. It was Edith’s favorite song that she and Mike had listened to together endless times. It was also one of the autographed albums that Harvey kept in his office and had showed off to Edith.

“It’s like that team bonding exercise we won last year.” Mike reminded Harvey as they started to dance.

“This _is_ a team bonding exercise, Mike. And, we’re officially a pretty good team.” Harvey could hear his fans choking and dying as he lightly swayed his hips.

Everyone clapped and sang along to the song, following the lyrics shown on the screen. “Everything I want the world to be~ Is now coming true especially for me~ And the reason is clear~ It’s because you are here~ You’re the nearest thing to heaven that I’ve seen~”

Jess pressed a Kleenex to her nose and threw her head back against the wall. She tended to get horrible nosebleeds when she got too excited. She was fully aware of all the awesomeness that was Harvey Specter, but she had no idea that he could dance so well. Every sway of his hips directly affected her heart and she found herself getting angry. ‘I hate that man!! I hate his face! I hate his body! I hate every bit of his existence! He’s a life ruiner and I’m going to grow old alone, trying to find someone like him!! He should hold auditions for his concubines! He could use a Harvey harem! A Harvem!’

Nusaiba was showing similar symptoms, checking her blood pressure with a worried look on her face. She was the company nurse that had once unbuttoned Harvey’s shirt to put a stethoscope to his chest, and yet she couldn’t handle his rhythmical movements. She felt her airway close up every time Harvey stuck out his ass and it was just painful.

‘Oh, for Christ’s sake, enough with the perfectness. What are your flaws? What did I ever do to you? Why are you doing this to me?’ She took two puffs from her inhaler and wiped some drool off her chin. It had been a sensible decision to buy that bib after all.

The song was in its second verse now and Mike beamed as it reached his favorite part. “There is only one wish on my mind~ When this day is through, I hope that I will find~ That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me~ All I need will be mine if you are here~”

“I’ll always be here.” Harvey pulled Mike close and whispered in his ear. “I promise.”

“You better. We still have many pages of Kama Sutra to go through and I refuse to do all those acrobatics with someone else.”

Harvey laughed into Mike’s hair. He smelled fantastic but he could expect him to smell even better once he got him dancing horizontally.

“You know, I think we should publish a gay version of that book. What do you think? It’s going to be awesome and I’ve put way too much thought into it to let it go to waste.”

“Whatever you want.” Harvey agreed in a heartbeat so that he could kiss his husband before the song came to an end.

Mike smiled into the kiss. He loved how Harvey couldn’t stop touching or kissing him. It was a PG-13 kiss but he found himself blushing a little. He could hear his mother-in-law shouting at them to make it NC-17 and it sounded like some of their fans had finally passed out.

“Let’s save the rest for later.” Harvey ended the kiss before Mike’s ears turned fully red. There were certain views that he didn’t want to share with anyone.

As the band moved onto play other oldies but goodies from Harvey’s record collection, everyone came out to dance. The grass was soft under their feet, the breeze was gentle in their hair, and there was music in everyone’s hearts.

Mike was now dancing with Sue and Harvey danced with Edith. Donna was paired with George Clooney while most of the female guests attempted to murder her with their glares. Norma was with Louis’ nephew since Louis was obsessed with checking his heart rate monitor, hiding under one of the tables. She wondered whom she would get to work for if Louis had to spend some time in the hospital.

Dancing went on until Norma brought out a whole bunch of helium balloons that were the colors of the rainbow. The Marveyed had already blown them up so that everyone could just pick a couple of them and write down their wishes for Marvey. And, when Ray counted down with an overexcited voice, they let go of the balloons and looked up at the sky.

“Wow, this is great! Look at all that!” Mike rested the back of his head on Harvey’s shoulder and looked at the hundreds of balloons. He felt like a kid all over again. Flying balloons had never failed to fascinate him.

Harvey wrapped his arms around Mike from behind and enjoyed the feeling of him barely being able to contain his excitement. He remembered how Mike had told him about his younger days when his mother would buy him a helium balloon every time he had done ten good deeds for someone else. He would name the balloon and take it with him everywhere and would let it sleep on the ceiling right above his bed. But when he woke up the next morning, his balloon friend would have left him without saying goodbye.

Mike had told him how much he hated it when his loved ones didn’t give him a chance to say goodbye, so Harvey had gotten into the habit of leaving a note whenever he had to leave Mike asleep in the bed. Even if it was for a relatively short time, he didn’t want Mike to wake up without him in sight.

Harvey felt a less creepy glance on his back and looked around to find its source. It was Donna. She was asking with her eyes if he liked what she had prepared for him and he nodded without even the slightest hesitation. His wealth had met Norma’s expertise and Donna’s understanding of them and had created a memory that he and Mike could treasure for the rest of their lives.

There was one last piece of business left; the souvenir pictures. Since only so many people could fit in a single photograph, the guests had been divided into multiple groups. The Marveyed had gone through a fierce rock-paper-scissors competition that had almost resulted in bloodshed to determine who got to stand closer to Marvey.

“Ohohohoho…” Miza, the rock-paper-scissors champion, enjoyed a witchy laugh, making sure that everyone around could hear her. Ever since she had secured the spot right next to Harvey a few weeks ago, she had been working on her diet. She had spent endless nights, curled up in hunger while delicious food constantly haunted her but she regretted nothing. She was going to look fabulous in the picture, and she was going to enlarge it and hang it in the middle of her living room.

Abby was the runner-up who had been thrilled at Miza’s choice. She had wanted to stand next to Mike who had always been a sweetheart to her. She had spent every single penny of her last bonus on facials to make sure that she wouldn’t look like a dead fish next to the gorgeous man. Thankfully, she was pleased with the results and the hand mirror had quickly become her best friend.

“Okay, everyone, may I have your attention please?” The photographer gathered everyone around and gave out instructions along with tips to look good in photographs. Jessica had never seen her employees listen so carefully.

“Is everyone ready? Say Mar-veey!”

“Mar-veey!”

And, that was how everyone got to keep a piece of that special afternoon.

 

“Wahaha!” Mike landed on the bed, giggling out of his mind. Harvey was tickling him and he couldn’t stop twisting in his half-naked glory. He was reminded of the time when Harvey had tickled him in front of the camera for the Pearson-Hardman VIP calendar. “Harvey, stop! Unless you want to kill me on my wedding night!”

“Oh, I do want to kill you on your wedding night. Just not the way you think.” Harvey joined him on the bed and switched his mode to caressing. He would never get tired of running his palms over Mike’s skin.

“Well, I’ve slept enough on the plane so bring it on!” Mike took off Harvey’s navy button-down shirt while he let his husband open his jeans.

Harvey was about to slip a hand inside the snug pants when he noticed that Mike was sitting still with his blue eyes fixed at a spot over his shoulder.

“What’s wrong? Tell me so I can fix it.” He cupped his puppy’s face before turning around to see what Mike was looking at.

“It’s… that.” Mike pointed at the glorious view outside the window that unfolded before their eyes. Because of the time difference, the sun was already rising around the Eiffel Tower, its tranquil light gilding the Parisian sky. This was why he had wanted to come to Paris and its beauty left him with no words but a fluttering heart. He was glad that he had someone to watch this sight with as he felt Harvey sit behind him and pull him into an embrace.

“Everything’s made of gold, Harvey. The clouds, the birds, everything.” Mike wanted to cry at the impeccably peaceful moment.

“And, you’re my golden boy.”

Mike turned around and glanced into Harvey’s gold-brown eyes before looking down at his hands. They were both drenched in the soft, golden light.

“You know I didn’t mean that literally.” Harvey laughed quietly and ruffled the rich blond hair.

“I know.” Mike smiled, basking in Harvey’s praise. Regardless of the amount of time that they had spent together, his heart still palpitated whenever Harvey called him his boy. He felt special and appreciated for whom he was; feelings that had been rather unfamiliar to him until he had met Harvey. Of course his grandmother had tried her best, but most of the people in the outside world had seen him as more of a useful tool.

“More champagne?” Harvey got up and padded across the suite in his jeans.

“Yes, please.”

He nodded and poured more champagne into both of the glasses. The consummation of their marriage could wait until the sun had fully risen. He wasn’t going to disturb Mike’s magical moment just because he was horny. Yes, they had already enjoyed sex in his summer condo, but he didn’t believe that the shower booth counted as a proper place for such a special consummation. He would like to think of it as a dry run.

“Harvey?”

“Hmm?” Harvey put a small bowl of raspberry on the tray.

“I love you.”

That surely drew Harvey’s attention over to the bed. “Love you too, puppy.” He let his eyes crinkle with delight as he fetched some napkins.

“No, no. I really love you!” Mike cried out. “I love you like my heart’s going to get ripped out if you don’t look at me. I love you so much I sometimes stay up at night to make sure you’re still with me. I’m burning for you, Harvey, and I just can’t tell you how much I love you and it kills me and I know you love me back but I really need you to know that I…”

Mike’s confession was cut off as Harvey yanked him up by the belt loops of his jeans and kissed him hard. Mike instinctively threw his arms around Harvey’s neck and hooked his legs around his waist. Harvey lost his balance at the added weight and fell forward onto the bed but that didn’t stop them from deepening the kiss.

Harvey wanted to pull the jeans off Mike’s legs but he couldn’t stop touching his face. He drew possessive circles with his thumbs on the heated cheeks until he was met with a teardrop. He pulled back and looked down at the boy who was frowning with his eyes squeezed shut. He looked frustrated, scared, and generally overwhelmed, which was a combination of looks that he never wanted to see on him again. The circles turned into reassuring ones and Harvey waited until Mike opened his eyes on his own.

“Look at me, Mike.”

“I’m looking at you.” Mike gave him a faint smile.

“No, _look_ at me.” Harvey narrowed the gap between their faces and allowed Mike to look into the abyss of his eyes. If there was one soul on earth that had the right to check out his bottomless pit of emotions, it should be his husband. He had never allowed full access to the world that was beyond the surface of his eyes, but it was the right time and the right person to break the habit for.

Mike observed Harvey’s eyes with pure awe. Various emotions flickered in his eyes, making his heart pound hard in his chest. It was like a groundbreaking ceremony. Harvey had been quite open to him this year, but with these untapped resources, they could build a whole new world together.

“See this?” Harvey held up Mike’s left hand. “We have these rings because we feel exactly the same way about each other. Whatever you feel, I feel it too, okay? You’re not alone in this.”

Mike nodded. For a split second, he had felt like he was going to burst into a hundred pieces, unsure how to deal with the waves of emotion that had hit him all at the same time. But luckily for him, he had a rock to hold onto that kept him from drowning. He wiped the tears with the back of his hand and decided to be strong. If Harvey really felt the same way as him, he had to be Harvey’s rock. He wasn’t going to be like Kate Winslet and let his man drown.

“I have a gift for you.” Mike smiled as he ran his hands up and down Harvey’s arms.

“Really? Where is it?”

“It’s inside my pants.”

Harvey laughed. “Let me guess. It’s your pliant body. Or worse, it’s your crown jewels.”

“Haha, no! That’s ridiculous! It’s really inside my pants! Help me take them off already.”

“Fine.” Harvey wasted no time in sliding the jeans off the creamy legs.

“Those are mine.” He recognized the pair of boxers from the ‘Wet puppy project’ which had forced him to lend them to his associate who had been soaked to the bones because of the sprinkler in his office.

“Uh, technically, these are mine now. They’re my potent boxers! And, look what Donna helped me with. Ta-da!” Mike got on his knees and elbows with his ass high up in the air.

Harvey read the words that were sewn over his husband’s ass: _Just Married!_

“Do you like it?” Mike wiggled his ass, absolutely sure that he had just heard Harvey swallowing hard.

“Need to ask?” Harvey leaned forward to take a closer look at the artwork.

“Nope, I just wanted to rub it in your face.” Mike moved back until he felt Harvey’s breath on his boxers.

Harvey snorted. “For once, I don’t think I’d mind that.” He licked slow, long stripes up the curve of Mike’s ass, dampening the fabric, and was rewarded with trembling muscles and cute whimpers.

Harvey smirked and gave the taut ass a light slap. “As much as I appreciate the position, I have something else in mind today.”

“Special occasion?” Mike turned around and lay on his back, eager to find out about Harvey’s plan.

“You can say that. Consider it my gift in return.” Harvey kissed the pretty lips until Mike let out a satisfied sound. Then he moved onto the slender neck that he could never get enough of.

“Let me guess. We’re trying that position on page 29 in Kama Sutra.” Mike’s tone was hopeful.

Harvey shook his head in disbelief and bit one of the erect nipples. At this rate, he would never hear the end of that kinky book. “You’re not going to cheat on me with some gymnast, are you?”

“Pfft, of course not! What kind of a person do you think I am? I’d always go for a yoga instructor!” That earned him a bite to the other nipple.

“Ow!” Mike exaggerated his yelp so that Harvey would kiss the pain away. And, when he did, he hid half of his smiling face in the pillow. He was definitely getting more love on his chest since he had waxed it to accommodate Harvey’s neatness.

“I saw that.” There was no edge to his voice as Harvey started to drop tender kisses all over the sensitive chest. “But I’ll let it slide if I get to eat breakfast off your chest.”

“You eat it off me every weekend anyway! Eggs! Salad! Pancakes!” 

“You have a problem with that? I told you, it’s to save time and show our concern for the environment. Fewer dishes to wash.”

“I actually have a problem with the punishment!” Mike thought about how Harvey made him take care of his own morning wood right in front of him whenever he moved and let the yolk burst while Harvey was eating an egg. “I know you burst that egg with your teeth on purpose! Moving a little wouldn’t do that! You just like to see the gooey substance ooze down my chest!”

“Do you have proof for that?” Harvey smirked. “Besides, I don’t know if it’s even punishment, puppy. You seem to enjoy yourself a little too much on your own. Always so loud.”

“That’s only because you won’t let me get off if I stay quiet!”

Harvey beamed. Mike was getting nicely warmed up for his gift. “All right then. You can stay as quiet as you’d like tonight. Now let me show you what we’re going to do.”

He slid out of the rest of his clothes and returned to the bed to pull down Mike’s potent boxers. Then he grabbed the tube of lube and straddled Mike’s hips before proceeding to prepare himself.

“I want to see.” Mike whined as he realized that it must be one of those nights that he got to be on top.

“No, sweetheart. But you can feel.” Harvey squirted some lube onto Mike’s fingers and pulled out his own.

Mike bit his lower lip and reached behind his husband. Harvey was impossibly hot and he couldn’t help but let out a loud moan.

“I thought you wanted to stay quiet.” Harvey teased.

Mike pulled out and jabbed his fingers just for that. Harvey gritted his teeth and gave a low growl. Mike chuckled, running a soothing hand up his husband’s thigh. He loved these moments when Harvey allowed him a little more control. And, by ‘loved’, he meant ‘terribly turned on.’

“Come on, Harvey. Let’s switch. I don’t want to wait.” Mike retrieved his fingers and tried to get Harvey off of him. Whenever Harvey bottomed, he liked to rest on his stomach like a lazy lion.

“No, Mike. We’re not switching.” Harvey put Mike’s hands back on his thighs.

“Oh, don’t worry. Foreplay isn’t over yet. I just need to see you.” Mike gave him a promising smile.

Harvey gave Mike an even more promising smile. “You’re not getting it, puppy. This is how we’re going to stay.”

Mike wasn’t following. “But you’re the one who’s been loosened up and you’re…” He couldn’t breathe anymore. “Are you serious right now? You’re not messing with me? You’re finally going to ride me?” He couldn’t keep the suspicious tone out of his voice.

“Do I look serious?”

“You look… horny.”

“I am. But I never joke about a good ride.” Harvey spoke with conviction.

Mike let out a choked moan as he pictured how things would go down. He could imagine just how dirty and passionate Harvey would look as a rider. “Okay, let me just grab a condom…”

He sat up but Harvey pinned him back down. “Nope, we’re not doing that either. We’re married, Mike. We’re not going to use those anymore.”

Mike was quiet. What did his husband just say? He really was trying to kill him on his wedding night. “But we’ve never… protection’s safe… but then… swan and vulture…”

‘Swan and vulture?’ Harvey raised his eyebrow. He hadn’t meant to fry the poor boy’s brain.

Mike pulled Harvey down by the neck and kissed him fervently. He loved the man so much that he often found himself having trouble expressing it and this was one of those times. He had been perfectly happy with protection, but he would be lying if he said that he had never dreamed about it. He loved how Harvey had brought it up tonight which would make them feel like they were really married.

While Mike was thoroughly distracted by the kiss, Harvey took the liberty of settling down on Mike in one swift movement.

“Harvey! Wait!!” Mike broke the kiss and arched off the bed, unable to handle the intensity.

Harvey chuckled and waited while brushing a lock of hair from Mike’s forehead. “Ready?” He liked the burn and didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.” Mike squeezed his eyes shut and tried to pull himself back from the brink. He wasn’t a teenager. He was well inside his twenties and should be able to hold back.

“Ready now?” Harvey gave it a test ride.

“No! Just give me a few more seconds.”

“You know how I hate waiting.” Harvey groaned.

Mike had a feeling that their lines should be swapped, but was it surprising that Harvey was in total control, oozing confidence even when he was about to ride someone?

“Your time is up.” Harvey announced and started to move.

“No, it’s not! Harvey!” Mike couldn’t stop his toes from curling as he twisted his upper body. “Wait a second! Oh god, Harvey, please… You can’t just start without me!”

Harvey only paused to snort. “I’m pretty sure you’re _with_ me, Mike.”

He resumed the ride with his hands on Mike’s shoulders when Mike burst into a fit of yelling. “I hate you, Harvey!! I hate your face! I hate your body! I hate every bit of your existence! You’re a life ruiner!”

Harvey looked at his husband with concern. It sounded like something that their fans would say. “Where did you learn that?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I just heard it around? I don’t know why I said that…” Mike looked up, equally confused. His brain must have picked it up from the office.

“That sounded like a challenge to me.” Harvey smiled down on his prey with a look of determination. “Let me show you what a life ruiner can do.”

Mike had to torture the sheets as Harvey took on a merciless rhythm. He tried to keep his voice down so that he could hear Harvey’s grunts more clearly but he just couldn’t shut up. He had never done this skin-to-skin before and the fact that it was Harvey who was riding him bareback was too awesome for words.

Harvey was pleased when Mike gave a full-body shudder, followed by a high-pitched wail. It never ceased to feed his hungry ego every time Mike lost his basic human abilities in their bed. He turned a little to the left, changing the angle, and elicited the loudest moan yet from the deliciously sweaty boy.

He found himself enjoying this new experience more than he had expected. Nothing but him existed in Mike’s world and he liked that. Even if they had switched the venue, Mike wouldn’t have been able to tell if they were still in a hotel or in a cave deep inside the woods. The fact that he could bring such extreme pleasure to such a brilliant mind had to be the most arousing experience.

“Harvey, Harvey…” Mike shook his head frantically. This was a fantastic way to cross over to the other side. He was probably going to set a record too since he had never heard of anyone that had gotten ridden to death.

“Mike… You’re just… the one I need… the only one…” Harvey leaned down and whispered between brutal movements. His voice had gone rough with lust and he grinned as he knew how much Mike liked that.

Mike whimpered like the puppy he was and opened his eyes to meet Harvey’s. He had a whole lifetime to explore the world behind those beautiful orbs and he couldn’t wait to get on with it.

His hand darted forward and got a grip of Harvey. The heat, weight, and moisture in his hand were electrifying. He tugged it a few times before letting it go and watched it bounce up and down in full force. He felt his breath hitch in his throat every time it hit his stomach and noticed that Harvey was watching the same scene with great interest and a lot of noise.

“Grab it back.” Harvey ordered as he lowered his face for a kiss.

Mike did as he was told and swirled his tongue inside Harvey’s mouth at the same pace that he used for his hand. Harvey’s hands left his shoulders and climbed up to his face, making his elbows dig into his chest but he couldn’t care less. He thrust up into his husband, feeling grateful that he had accumulated enough experience to multitask. Harvey was a great mentor in whatever he taught.

Harvey let Mike take control of the ride and gracefully threw his head back. Mike pleased him like nobody else and he could only hope that it would never change.

Mike looked up with wonder as a stream of sunlight came through the window. Harvey looked like a golden god who had descended on top of him to bless him.

“Okay, we’re going to do this together.” Harvey suggested just in time.

“Okay.” Mike liked this new twist. Harvey usually let him reach climax first, and while he was grateful for the consideration, he sometimes felt as if he was being treated like a boy. Who said that he couldn’t last as long as Harvey or even longer? He was confident that he could hold his own… But then, when Harvey had hinted that he wanted to ride him, he had almost lost it right then and there. So perhaps Harvey really knew how to handle him.

“Mike, focus.” Harvey pressed his forehead against Mike’s before kissing him again. Mike was simply delicious when he was this aroused.

“Harvey, are you sure about this?” Mike still had a hard time believing that there wasn’t anything between them. He had no problem feeling it, but it wasn’t the easiest idea to process without tipping over the edge. “You don’t have to do this just because it’s our wedding night. Every night is special with you and you know that.”

“Are you worried about me, puppy?” Harvey found it cute.

“Of course! I’m your husband!”

With that proclamation, the husbands locked their ringed fingers together and Mike gave one final push. Their mingled breath stroked the shy sunlight and they fell into peaceful blissfulness.

Harvey carefully rolled off of Mike, only to see the boy quickly falling asleep. It had been a long day and he could understand the exhaustion. He himself couldn’t stifle a yawn as he felt utterly relaxed. He smiled as the result of their bareback ride made a mess between his legs. If Mike had been awake, they could have done some kinky things with it, but they would have to try it some other time.

Harvey made a quick trip to the large window to close the curtains and to the bathroom to fetch a wet towel. Mike gave a small moan as he got cleaned up and Harvey hushed him with a kiss to the forehead. Then he let out another lazy yawn before wrapping his arms around his husband and closed his eyes. He couldn’t resist a huge grin as he thought about what Mike would like when he woke up to a room full of rainbow-colored helium balloons, alive and well, that had all kinds of happy wishes just for the two of them.

 

**THE END**  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's note** : There's an epilogue coming, so I'll say my long thank yous there :D


	32. Happily ever after

  
What did Harvey Specter do in the morning? The world of law thought that the great lawyer’s day started with reciting obscure clauses or practicing his shark stare in front of the mirror. Rene would like to think that it started with admiring his fine suits while Jessica hoped that it started with him vowing to himself that he would listen to her once every quarter. His fans liked to think that a fantastic orgasm started Harvey’s day and while it had been the truth for many years, he now had a slightly different routine.

Seven years had passed since the legendary lawyer had married his associate. He still had the best closure rate in the city and still teased Louis mercilessly. But with time, some big changes had been made. He now had a different associate since Mike had recently made junior partner. Mike had wanted to wait a few more years, refusing to leave his mentor’s side, but he had insisted that it was time for his puppy to stand on his own. As a senior associate, Mike had won many solo cases for years so he was more than ready in Harvey’s eyes. He also got himself a bigger office so that he could display more souvenirs from his clients.

There had been changes in his personal life as well. The Specters now lived in a different condo since they needed more room to accommodate the youngest members of the family. Whenever he called his mother, she asked him if he was finally getting a divorce but he had been doing surprisingly well in his married life.

As any other blissful morning, Harvey was up early watching his husband sleep when a tiny blond head appeared in the doorway.

“Daddy, can I come in? I’m hungry.” A four year old boy whispered as he rubbed his small hands over his bright blue eyes.

“Of course you can.” Harvey sat up and lifted his younger son and his teddy bear onto his lap.

“Can we have pancakes? With lots and lots of syrup.” Patrick dropped the bear on the bed and made the biggest circle with his hands. It was very important that his big daddy understood how much maple syrup he wanted.

“Pancakes it is then. I don’t know where all that syrup goes.” Harvey tickled the boy’s belly with his fingers.

“Ehehe, it tickles!” The boy quickly covered his mouth. He didn’t want to wake up his little daddy.

“Don’t worry. He’s still asleep.” Harvey kissed his son on the forehead. Mike was a deep sleeper.

“One more time, daddy.”

Harvey kissed the cute forehead again with a smile on his face. Patrick was just like Mike; he had no problem asking for more affection.

“Is your brother up yet?”

The little boy shook his head. “He’s very lazy.”

“So we’re the early birds, hmm?” Harvey playfully pinched his boy on the cheek.

“Yes, we are! Can I be an angry bird? I’m angry because I’m hungry.” Patrick made a face that couldn’t even scare Harold.

“Tell you what, you can be the cute little blue one and Daddy can be the big bad red one.” Harvey made a proper angry face that sent the boy into a fit of giggles.

“Shh!” Harvey put his index finger against Patrick’s lips as Mike stirred next to them. The two of them froze while they waited for Mike’s next reaction. Thankfully, he just gave a small groan and kept sleeping.

“Phew…” Patrick let out a sigh of relief and made his teddy bear do the same.

“Hey, why don’t you go sit in the kitchen and tell Teddy about what you dreamt last night? I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay, daddy, hurry. Teddy’s hungry too.” Patrick slid off the warm lap and gave his other daddy a kiss on the cheek. He hoped that his little daddy got to meet Snoopy in his dream.

After making sure that his younger son safely got off the bed and out of the room, Harvey mimicked his action. He and Patrick obviously had a soft spot for Mike’s cheek.

‘Well, I have a soft spot for his everything.’ Harvey admitted as he kissed Mike’s bare shoulder before tucking it under the covers. He wanted to watch the mesmerizing moment of his husband opening his eyes but he had to get out of bed. There was a hungry kid and a scary bear waiting for him in the kitchen.

 

“Daddy, the lazy birds are here.” Patrick giggled as his older brother and little daddy joined him in the kitchen.

“What! We’re the beautiful birds that got enough beauty sleep.” Gabriel yawned and ruffled his brother and his bear’s hair.

“Yeah, we’re the ones who get all the love.” Mike bumped his fist against Gabriel’s before walking over to his husband for a good morning kiss. An apron was one of the many things that he liked to see on Harvey. There was something irresistibly hot about a man who knew how to cook.

“Oh come on, dads, we’ve talked about this.” Gabriel covered his eyes. He was six years old so he knew what love was, but he hadn’t woken up early to see his dads share a long kiss. He glanced at his brother between his fingers, but he was too busy talking to Teddy to bother about anything else.

“Let’s save the rest for the shower.” Harvey whispered in his lowest voice and earned a nice shiver from his husband. He was pleased that he could still turn Mike on with a simple kiss and a promise.

“Daddy, can I have a Snoopy balloon today?”

Patrick’s question got Mike’s attention. “Did you do ten good things for someone else?” He asked as he settled down next to him.

“Yes!” Patrick started counting with his fingers as he talked about all the good things that he had done. But when he had nine fingers folded with only one more to go, he couldn’t remember the last good thing. “Oh no…”

Gabriel felt bad for his little brother who was about to burst into tears. “Hey, didn’t you help me find my Aladdin book last night?”

Patrick thought about it before shaking his head. “No, I didn’t do that.”

Letting out a groan, Gabriel hit his own forehead with a fork. The baby boy was supposed to play along with his lie. It looked like he was still too young to understand how things worked in life. Feeling a scary stare from across the table, he looked up to see his little dad looking unhappy with his little trick. He gave him the typical Specter smile that would surely get him out of trouble.

“Only I get to use that smile on him, young man.” Harvey made it clear as he served his family pancakes, eggs, and salad. Then he sat down next to Gabriel and held the pinkie finger that Patrick was still holding up. “Why don’t you help everyone with syrup and drinks and earn that balloon?”

“Harvey!”

Harvey held up a finger to stop Mike from erupting into an educational volcano. “He’s already a good boy, Mike. And, you know what it’s like to be a good boy. Let him have it.”

Mike stayed quiet as Patrick beamed and started to pour a glass of milk for Gabriel with Harvey’s help. He was going to have to wait until he got Harvey in the shower. If his mentor had taught him one thing, it was that a bathroom was a great place to have meaningful talks.

“What would you like to drink, Mr. Specter? Orange juice? Coffee?” Patrick asked his little daddy as if he was one of those pretty people on a plane.

Mike could only laugh fondly at his son’s cuteness. He had gotten it from him of course. “Orange juice, please.”

Harvey smiled at the sight. As difficult as the decision had been, he hadn’t regretted a single day for having used a surrogate mother for his children. Patrick was that much more adorable with Mike’s genes in him and Gabriel was obviously awesome thanks to his.

“I have a question.” Gabriel said seriously while staring at his little dad’s neck.

“What is it, Gabe?” Mike was intrigued. His older son always had questions.

“Are we all humans here? Nobody’s a little… different?” The boy put on a brave face. He wanted to know the truth. He was a big boy and didn’t need his dads to protect him with lies.

“What exactly do you want to know?” Harvey turned his head and studied his boy’s face. “Human beings are animals too.”

“I know that.” Gabriel whined. He was the smartest in the kindergarten. “Someone bites little dad on the neck every night! And, dad shares his room with you! So I want to know if you are you a vampire. That would be so cool!”

Mike laughed as he covered the love bites with his hand while Harvey showed their son his teeth. “Do you see any fangs? No, you don’t. That means I’m not a vampire.”

“But maybe you went to the dentist! Or maybe you had fangs 100 years ago but you didn’t use them enough so they went away.”

“Sweetheart, I think he’s going to be an evolutionary scientist.” Harvey whispered to his husband with a proud look on his face.

“We have enough lawyers in the family so that would be nice.”

“So, are you?” Gabriel asked again. If his big dad was a vampire, he might be one too. That was how family worked. “Don’t worry, dad. I’ll still love you just like yesterday.”

While Mike put a hand over his heart, Harvey kissed his son on the chocolate brown head. “Tell you what. Why don’t you call your grandmother later and ask her? She’s the one who gave birth to me so she’ll know what I am.”

“Grandma?” Gabriel frowned. Why couldn’t his dad just tell him what he was? “Um, are you something else then? Grandma Sue looks like she can be many different things…”

Both parents laughed and Harvey promised his older son that this grandmother would have an answer for him.

“More syrup, daddy.” Patrick poked his little daddy in the arm. He wasn’t sure what everybody was talking about but it was okay; he had his pancakes and Teddy. Plus, he was the cutest one in the family and nobody was going to take that away from him.

 

While Ray drove the family to Pearson-Hardman, Gabriel was on the phone with his grandmother. His little dad, who was riding shotgun, was talking to Ray and his big dad was listening to Patrick tell him all about Snoopy’s adventures. “Grandma, is big dad a vampire? Did you take him to the dentist to make his fangs go away? Am I a vampire too? Are you?”

Sue was glad that she had used to be in the education sector. She knew how to handle kids’ questions. “Listen, Brownie, the Specters are champions. You know that, right?”

“Of course, Grandma. I’m the head champion in the kindergarten.”

“Yes, you are, smart boy. Now listen to me carefully. Vampires are not champions because they only take from people. Champions are people who give.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Your big dad only _gives_ love to your little dad. He gets love from him, sure, but he doesn’t _take_ it when Bubble doesn’t want to give it. Do you understand?”

Gabriel made a whining sound. He understood it just fine. What he didn’t understand was why people kept thinking that he wasn’t smart enough.

“So tell me, whiny boy, does Harvey sound like a vampire or not?”

“He doesn’t. But what are the red marks on little dad’s neck then? Big dad pinched him?”

Sue was dearly tempted to tell the truth but he feared that her son-in-law might punish her by doubling her babysitting time. Twice a week was already more than enough, and there was a reason why she bought copious amounts of health care products for Mike’s grandmother. “The marks are made because of grown-up love, Brownie. You’ll know when you hit eighteen. Now put Bubble on the phone so I can talk to him about my poor cub losing his hair.”

After handing over his big dad’s cell phone to his little dad, Gabriel thought about what his grandmother had said. ‘What exactly is grown-up love?’ He wished that he could see the marks again but he would have to wait until they got out of the car.

‘Hmm, so dads don’t just kiss for hours and hug each other tight until one can’t breathe? They do other things?’ He glanced at his big dad’s chest and looked down at his own. Yep, he needed a bigger chest to happily kiss and hug for hours, let alone do other things.

‘I think it’s a pinch mark. What else can it be? Grandma didn’t say no when I asked her. That must be it.’ Making up his mind, he pinched his brother’s arm with love. Patrick was always the go-to guy when he needed to try something.

“Oww!”

The unhappy look that Patrick gave him told him that he didn’t feel any love at all. “Sorry…” He smiled sheepishly and gently rubbed the pink spot with his hand. Maybe he didn’t know that much about love after all.

 

While Gabriel had gone to see his favorite auntie Jessica, Patrick was sitting on Donna’s lap, telling his fans about what had happened at breakfast with only one finger left to go. He was close to tears, reliving the terrible moment, but luckily he had Harold crying for him instead. Rachel reminded the boy every two seconds that he now had the balloon with him by tapping his left wrist. Donna kept a bunch of Snoopy helium balloons under her desk and tied one to the tiny wrist whenever Harvey gave her the green light.

As soon as the heartbreaking story was over, Donna pulled out some yellow smiley stickers and a sticker board from her top drawer.

“What are those?” Patrick pointed at them. He liked stickers.

“It’s yours now.” Donna smiled and put them in the boy’s hands. “This way, you won’t have to remember all the good things you’ve done. When you help someone, you ask them to put a sticker on the board. And, when you have ten stickers, take it to your dads, okay? Sarah has one of these too.”

“She does?” Patrick thought about the five year old girl who looked exactly like her mother. “But she didn’t have any new stickers when I asked her last Friday.”

“That’s because she got them on Saturday. And, she writes down what she wants in this box. Let’s put ‘a Snoopy balloon’ here. Or, do you want something else this time?”

The small group of audience laughed at the offended look on the boy’s face. Apparently his godmother should have known better.

“Okay… Another Snoopy balloon it is.” Donna wrote it down and put the board and stickers in the small messenger bag. Mike didn’t carry a messenger bag anymore but Patrick was carrying on with the family tradition.

“Auntie Donna?” Patrick looked up with stars in his eyes.

“Yes, sweetie?” Donna gave him a peck on the head.

“You just became Super Auntie. Mwaah!” He gave his superhero a big kiss on the cheek and got off her lap. His Snoopy watch told him that he had fifteen minutes to find someone who would help him with the stickers before kindergarten started.

Meanwhile, in the managing partner’s office, Gabriel was showing off his new drawings to Jessica and a few senior partners. Jessica was particularly impressed with the one where she was taking over the world and making big people kneel at her feet. The boy was remarkably perceptive for his age and she loved the smug look on her color-penciled face. He could make a great lawyer one day but then he was a terrific painter as well.

“I think this masterpiece needs to be framed and go up on my wall today.” She held up the drawing and allowed herself to look thoroughly pleased.

“You like it?” Gabriel grinned hard even though he didn’t know what a masterpiece was. But it sounded good, and there was nothing like hearing good words from the boss of the city who was going to be the boss of the world one day. That was how life worked.

“It’s one of your best pieces yet.” Jessica gave him her honest opinion and earned several nods and murmurs of agreement from the other partners.

“That’s great! Thank you!” Gabriel held his hurting cheeks and kept on grinning. His great-grandmother had once told him that great pain came with great joy, and he was thinking that maybe this was what she had meant.

 

Unfortunately, not everyone in the office appreciated the presence of the two kids. Louis was standing with his arms crossed, looking at the disaster outside his office. People were squeaking over some drawings made with color pencils and adjusting their name tags on their chests so that the boys would remember their names.

‘They have absolutely no shame at all.’ Louis shook his head as his frown got deeper. Over the years, he had come to terms with the Specters having fans in the office. What still bothered him though was the overreaction of those fans. He would like to point out that the boys knew his name just fine even when he had never worn a name tag and when his office was one of the last places that they would visit.

‘But then maybe they only know it because Harvey mocks me at home. Or maybe it’s because of their birthday gifts.’ Even though he didn’t get to talk to the boys often, he tried to leave an impression by buying them truckloads of toys. He had always liked kids and much to his sorrow, his rival’s boys were insanely adorable. He had tried to get kids of his own but the doctor had ruled out that possibility, so he and his second wife were looking forward to an adoption.

‘This could’ve been so much easier if Donna had just accepted me.’ He grunted as he thought about how he had offered to take responsibility for Donna and her daughter when she had decided to raise her child without the biological father’s help. That was before he had met his current wife but if Donna gave him so much as a nod, he was ready to throw his wife out the window.

Speaking of people that he wanted to throw out the window, he still hadn’t managed to get rid of Norma. No matter how many times he practiced firing her with Harold, he just couldn’t get the upper hand. When he had finally made senior partner, he had tried to throw her to a junior partner but Norma had shown him her wild, non-manicured claws. And, when Lana had taken a maternity leave, he had tried to turn her over to Lex but he had politely refused, claiming that they had to think about the best possible allocation of resources. What was that supposed to mean?

Yet there had been this one time that he had come quite close to freedom. It was when Norma had almost broken his left thumb because he hadn’t read the sign on her desk: ‘Touch or lose a finger’. Out of curiosity, he had held up the origami bear that Gabriel had made her and Norma had reacted as if he had slapped her baby.

‘I should’ve fired her right then and there. Or at least press criminal charges.’ Louis winced as he remembered how hard he had to yell to get someone to call 911 for him. If his coworkers had been a little more cooperative, he could have successfully ditched the creature. He had dreamt of firing Norma in front of everyone in the most dramatic way possible, but by the time he had stopped worrying about his thumb, Norma had already left for lunch.

“Uncle Louis?”

Louis was startled at the voice of the four year old angel. He had glared at the back of Norma’s head so intensely that his eyes were tired, but God had sent him a sight for sore eyes.

“Hey, how can I help you, buddy?” Louis held the door open so that the boy’s body could follow his head into the office.

Patrick wrinkled his nose as he looked up. “Did you have sausage again yesterday? Are you on a sausage spree?”

Louis just nodded for the boy’s sake and took a seat on the couch. He wondered what had brought Patrick to his office. “Do you need more toys, angel? I can see you got another Snoopy.” He pointed at the balloon around the kid’s wrist.

“I always need more toys but that’s not why I’m here. I want to sing for you, Uncle Louis. Auntie Rach told me you like songs?” Patrick asked with eyes full of hope.

“I don’t just _like_ songs, Patrick. I _love_ them!” Louis sat back and prepared to clap while Patrick grabbed the remote control for the blinds to use as a mike. Then an enthusiastic medley of cartoon theme songs filled his ears. He found himself thoroughly enjoying the performance even though the blinds kept going up and down.

“Bravo! Excellent! The best voice in the world!!” Louis launched into a medley of compliments to see the angelic smile.

“Okay, Pavarotti, time to go downstairs.” Mike knocked on the open door and poked his head in just like his son.

“One sec, daddy.” Patrick quickly pulled out his sticker kit and held it out to Louis.

While the senior partner chuckled at his son’s explanation and gladly indulged him, Mike thought about how nice it was to have a day care center on the third floor. They had a good program for the older kids that could pass for kindergarten education and it was easy to check in on his boys. He also loved how the boys got to know his coworkers and their kids. Gabriel would soon have to go to school nearby, but he intended to keep him around in the building before and after school.

“Tee-hee!” Patrick’s excited voice made him smile and give Louis a grateful look. The boy hadn’t seemed to have inherited his perfect memory so he had been making him memorize all the good things that he had done. But Donna had just convinced him that even kids that age had better things to do than constantly worrying about forgetting small details of his life.

“Only nine more to go, daddy!”

“Good for you! Now let’s get you to your friends and teachers. We don’t want to be late.” Mike held out his hand and felt a surge of happiness when his son took it without hesitation. It was natural and expected but it got him every time.

“He can sing here anytime he wants!” Louis shouted hastily as he watched the pair head towards the elevators. He saw out of the corner of his eyes that Norma was standing up with a piece of paper and he prayed that it wasn’t what he thought it was.

“Don’t tell me it’s _that_ again.” He shuddered as his secretary came closer and closer.

Norma grinned mischievously as she held out the application form for The Marveyed.

“No! Just because I can tolerate the young Specters doesn’t mean I can do the same for the oldest one!” Louis stated courageously before holding up his arms to shield his face. If he hadn’t been so loyal, he would have simply moved to another law firm and avoid all of this ridiculousness. But alas, the Litts were known for their ridiculous loyalty and he just hated his family traits right now.

“If you show me that form one more time, I’ll be forced to fire you! I wouldn’t want to, but I’d have to!” Louis put his foot down, trying not to shake like a leaf.

“Then I’ll be forced to expose your little anti-Harvey club. I wouldn’t want to, but I’d have to.” Norma crossed her arms, making sure that her boss could see her crazy eyes.

Louis shrieked in terror. “How do you even know about that?”

Norma just gave him a knowing look and went back to her desk.

Louis shuddered as he thought about his poor online club. They only had three members aboard; him, Travis Tanner, and a guy who had accidentally joined the club and for some reason had decided to stay. He would have still appreciated the small company if all of them been committed to the cause. But it turned out that Tanner was merely a fanboy who was desperate for attention and the other guy only knew Harvey from the local H&M ads that he and Mike had done for a couple of years.

‘I can’t believe this is my life…’ Louis heaved a sigh and flopped down into his chair. He was pretty sure that senior partners in other law firms didn’t have to go through such an ordeal.

“That damned loyalty!” He shook his fist in the air before noticing that people were walking past his office, looking at him as if he had lost his mind.

“It’s not me who’s lost his mind! It’s you! And you! And you!” He kindly pointed out with his fingers but the stares only grew harder. Growling at his terrible misfortune, Louis picked up his pen and started attacking the brief in front of him. 

‘All heroes get tortured by lowly souls. It’s just fate.’ Even after all these years, his mantra remained the same.

 

“Cameron, could you please get me the deposition for the Mansfield case?” Mike scribbled a memo in the file as he asked through the intercom. He only had two hours before meeting Harvey for lunch so he had to work fast. Normally he would have only needed an hour or so but he had been distracted, thinking about getting Harvey a new tie. They should really stop using Harvey’s ties as props in bed but his own ties didn’t turn them on as much as Harvey’s.

“Cam?” He looked up to see if his secretary wasn’t at his desk.

“Oh, sorry! Of course, Mike. Coming right away.”

Mike tried not to chuckle at Cameron’s flushed cheeks as he rushed out of his seat. His fiancé, Gregory, had come to see him.

‘Ah, the good old times.’ Mike wondered if he had looked as happy as that while he had been engaged to Harvey. Then he realized that he was still as happy, if not happier, even after all this time.

He thanked Cameron for the document and thought about his lovely husband as he played with his wedding ring. He knew that he had to focus on work but he couldn’t resist the urge to hear Harvey’s voice.

_R-ring._

Harvey tried not to be too delighted at the extension number showing up on his phone. “Mike. If we have phone sex, there’s a good chance I’ll be late for lunch. Do you think you could be a good boy for a couple more hours?”

“Oh, you’re so cruel giving me ideas like that.”

Harvey laughed at Mike’s frustrated moan. “What do you need, puppy? You’re well aware that my new associate requires my attention. With his work.” He added at the end. The topic of his associate was still a delicate one due to Mike’s jealousy.

“Is Mr. Stilinski in your office right now?” Mike couldn’t help the accusing tone. He had been Harvey’s one and only associate for so long that it felt wrong to see him with someone else. It also didn’t help that Harvey had a history of getting uncharacteristically attached to his associate.

“He’s in his cubicle, Mike. And, you can just call him Stiles. You helped me pick him, remember?”

“I know…” Mike groaned. “He knew how to think outside the box and you thought he had balls since he had a wolf as a pet.”

“Correct. He also recited the whole history of the male circumcision and wore offending ties. I can only assume he picked it out of the ones you threw out.”

“Hahaha. Hey, now that I think about it, I think it’s enough punishment for you to have skinny ties in your face again. Just when you thought you had eradicated it, it came back! In full force!”

“Keep that up and you’re not getting any homemade dessert.”

Knowing what his dirty husband meant by homemade dessert, Mike’s mouth watered immediately. Then he remembered why he had called Harvey in the first place. “I just want to say thanks, Harvey.”

“For what? You didn’t get the dessert yet.”

Mike giggled. “I meant for this life, with you and the kids. With Donna and the fans and everything. None of this would’ve happened to me if you hadn’t believed in me that day. So thank you. I couldn’t be any happier.”

Harvey twirled his wedding ring as he let the words sink in. It felt weird to hear such words from his husband when he considered himself the lucky one.

“Well, if you really want to thank me…” He muttered in a low voice that he knew Mike died for.

“I’ll pay for lunch!” Mike rushed to finish Harvey’s sentence so that both of them could make it to lunch on time. “Now tell me what I want to hear.”

Harvey let out an exaggerated sigh before saying the usual words. “Mike, you’re much smarter and cuter than my current associate.”

“Aww, thanks, Harvey. I love you too.” Mike made a kissing sound and hung up before he gave in to the urge to whisper filthy words down the handsome ear.

Harvey grinned as he put the phone down. Life really worked in mysterious ways. Who would have known that an annoying round of interviews would lead to all of this?

He reduced the size of the windows to take a look at his wallpaper. It was a family photo taken last Christmas. He was dressed as Santa while Mike was his Rudolph and the kids were the elves. He touched Mike’s red nose on the monitor, hoping that Donna wasn’t watching. But then she was one of the few people who truly understood how much he cared about Mike. He knew that he had it bad when he found his husband cuter than his children.

‘And yet they say it’s _just_ an associate and it’s _completely_ safe to get one.’ Harvey shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips.

So this was how Harvey Specter spent his usual mornings. There were no obscure clauses or shark stares involved. There were only warm kisses and playful conversations that kept him motivated to enjoy his present and look forward to his future.

Some said that he was softer as a family man and might not be the best closer for long. Others said that he had become an even better lawyer, now that he had a fuller range of emotions. Then there was Mike who said that he was the man who had put the dream back in his eyes. And, if that wasn’t a quality of the ultimate problem-solver, he didn’t know what was. 

♥♥♥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the monster’s finally done! A hundred regrets! XD As much as it pains me to part with this story, I realized that I’ve been writing it for almost a year *weeps* A million thanks to those who have patiently tolerated my updates! The only purpose of this story was to make fellow Suitors crack a smile, so I hope that you got to laugh a little with our beloved characters :D
> 
> All of the fangirls’ names that appeared in this story were real-life Marvey fangirls from the LiveJournal Suits meme. Many thanks to them for letting me borrow their beautiful names :) I first started posting Suits stories on LJ and got the prompt for this story there as well, so my special thanks go to the LJ Suits family.
> 
> That doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate all the support I’ve been getting from Ff.net and AO3. All the lovely reviews are safely stored and have helped me with inspiration whenever I got stuck. It was such a silly story that I didn’t expect so much love. It humbled me and made me want to write better. Thank you so much :)
> 
> This story may have come to an end but The Marveyed keeps going on! For those who are interested in joining the prestigious club, Norma will be visiting you in your dreams with application forms :D


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